| Happiness Is Theme of 2012-2013 Colloquium Series |
07.18.12 |
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The 2012-2013 Colloquium Series will focus on “HAPPINESS,” concluding the three-part series, “Health, Wealth, and Happiness.” HAPPINESS is a year-long integrated series of guest speakers, roundtable discussions, films and courses that will consider the meaning and importance of happiness as a psychological, physiological, social and cultural phenomenon.
HAPPINESS involves presentations by speakers from a number of disciplines who approach the theme from the standpoints of the arts, the wellness of body and mind, the demands of a consumer economy, the expectations and duties of political life, and the broad philosophical questions of human flourishing.
The series kicks off September 4 with a screening of “Rebuilding Hope,” a 2009 film which tells the story of Gabriel Bol-Deng returning home to his war-torn country of South Sudan. Bol-Deng will be on campus September 11 to discuss the film, his life, and his efforts with the Hope for Ariang Foundation which provides educational opportunities to the war-affected children of Sudan.
The Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery also celebrates the HAPPINESS theme with its art exhibit “A Feast for the Eyes,” which examines the tradition of still-life painting and the importance that food has played as a subject of the genre. The painting of food has fascinated artists since antiquity and their portrayals, in turn, bring to light a culture’s relationship with food. On September 27, Dr. John Varriano will further explore the theme in the presentation “Food and Wine, Sex and Death.”
An October 2 screening of “Happiness Is” (2009) discovers how American define and find happiness. Inspired by the Declaration of Independence’s assertion that all people have a right to “the pursuit of happiness,” documentary filmmaker Andrew Shapter traveled across the United States to answer that question.
To further explore finding happiness, Edy P. Pierre, a therapist at Harrisburg’s Genesis House Inc., will discuss his recently release book, “In Search of Meaning and Purpose through Living, Structure & Function.” Pierre’s presentation takes place October 25.
The Colloquium will discuss happiness through a cultural lens a few weeks after Hispanic Heritage Month concludes, as clinical psychologist Dr. Carlos Carrasquillo converses on that subject with Dr. Ivette Guzman Zavala, LVC assistant professor of Spanish. Carrasquillo’s visit is scheduled for November 1.
November’s packed programming continues with Woodrow Wilson Fellow and artist, illustrator, and humanitarian Robert Shetterly. He will present “Politics, Protest, and Happiness” on November 5, “Truth Telling and Happiness” on November 7, and “Art, Happiness, and Social Dissent” on November 8. Shetterly has illustrated more than 30 books, including a series of portraits called “Americans Who Tell the Truth” that is currently showing across the United States.
LVC welcomes back 1971 graduate and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett for a November 13 discussion. Corbett was sworn in as the 46th governor of Pennsylvania in January 2011 and was honored with LVC’s 32nd Annual Founders Day Award in 2011.
The series will continue in the spring semester, and will celebrate with the United Nation’s “International Day of Happiness” on March 20. The UN’s 193-member General Assembly passed a resolution proclaiming the day, saying “The pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal.”
For a full list of HAPPINESS programming and admission information, visit www.lvc.edu/live-calendar/colloquium.aspx.
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