IMAGES AND
ICONS Fall 2020 Honors
ries cture Se Honors Le s • UH 3000 Fall 2020 nday 5 p.m. Mo 3:00–3:5 August 24 Introduction come and Wel
ors) Phillips (Hon Philip E.
August 31
mon ue, the Com Civic Virt Blue: What’s e Good, Tru bility? My Responsi ory) Evins (Hist Mary A.
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Louis Woods, associate professor of African American history
28 SeptemberNation:
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21 Septemberand
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26 October lth lic Hea
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Stor Chandra ity (Commun ic Health) and Publ
2 Novemberc Virtue, Voting: Civi onsibility Civic Resp y
hert r) Steve Daug Army Majo (Retired U.S.
9 November Student: Ask Every Class ue Civic Virt Dialogue
ors) Phillips (Hon ory) Philip E. (Hist A. Evins and Mary
16 November owships
Fell National ships and Scholar (Honors) ard Laura Clipp
23 November entations Student Pres
Welcome and Introdu
ction Rebekka King (Philoso phy and Religious Studies)
September 1
“Beauty Will Save the World”: Iconography as a Way of Seeing
John Oliver (St. Elizabeth Orthodox Church)
September 8
Word and Image in Medieval Jewish Manuscripts
Laura Cochrane
(Art and Design)
September 15
The Liberty Bell: Proclaiming Liberty Throughout All the Land
John R. Vile (Honors
)
September 17
Constitution Day
September 22
Why Are These 32 found in Ancient Symbols Caves all over Europe?
TED Talk by Genevie ve von Petzinger (Paleoan thropologist)
Lecture Series • 2:40
–3:45 p.m. Tuesdays
September 29
Building Self-Aw areness Through the Constr of a Healthy Body uction Image
Barbara Turnage
October 6
(Social Work)
Visualizing Violen t Femininity: Race, Sex, and Femmes Fatales in Blonde and Proud Atomic Mary Roberta
Chevrette (Communication Studies)
October 13
Virtual Images and
Sal Barbosa (Compu
October 20
• UH 3000
November 3
An Unusual Glimps e at Celebrity
TED Talk by Alison
Jackson (Artist)
November 10
Wrap-Up Zoom
Meetin
g Rebekka King (Philoso phy and Religious Studies)
November 17
National Fellowships and Scholarships
Laura Clippard (Honors
Icons
ter Science)
November 24
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Student Presentations
Why We ♥ Things : A Graphic Design er’s Perspective
Sheri Selph (Art
and Design)
October 27
Comics: Amplification Through Simplifi cation
Kari Neely (World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures)
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ge Week MT Enga Jennifer tion led by Conversa Adonijah ory) and Pettit (Hist ory) Bakari (Hist
LECTURE SERIES ADDRESSES SOCIAL JUSTICE 0620-9070
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Joan McRae
By Randy Weiler Louis Woods recounts how his grandfather, Melvin Grant, served with other men on “the historical USS Mason (DE-529), the first trans-Atlantic vessel with a predominantly Black crew, successfully completing five convoys across the Atlantic in World War II.” But when Grant returned home, he still faced historical barriers and a lack of access to fair housing that Woods discussed in his “Structural Racism and the Construction of Place” talk, part of MTSU’s Spring 2021 Honors Lecture Series titled “Social Justice.” “It took my grandfather 21 years to buy a home, despite earning a no-down-payment, federally endorsed GI Bill home loan,” said Woods, noting that his grandfather’s story is not abnormal. “The racial barriers of the postwar era superseded his heroic military service.” Every spring and fall, the Honors College offers an upper-division class on a topic of interest, bringing in MTSU faculty and renowned experts from beyond campus to share their knowledge during a weekly class. Usually open to the public, the lecture series was available by livestream only to class members last year, but each talk was posted to video later. However, last fall the Honors College hosted two lecture series in the same semester for the first time, “Civic Virtue” on Mondays and “Images and Icons” on Tuesdays, both remotely. “We want our students to engage with topics of current and often enduring relevance,” said Philip E. Phillips, Honors College associate dean. Phillips consulted with Woods about possible topics and speakers for the Social Justice lectures. Woods’ discussion was central to the series because
it addressed “systemic racism and some of the ways that it continues to undermine the possibility of true ‘equality’ in our country,” Phillips added. He said that between 1934 and 1962, after investing more than $100 billion dollars into the private American housing market, the federal government helped Americans double their national rate of homeownership. But access to upward mobility was often dictated by a veteran’s race.
The federal government chose winners and losers. The GI Bill “created the modern American middle class. . . . Less than 3% of African American veterans of World War II ever benefited from the GI Bill,” said Woods, MTSU's Presidential Fellow on Social Justice and Inequality. “Where we live influences taxes, health care, encounters with police, and wealth,” he added. “. . . A ZIP code is a destiny. Where people live is not an act of God; it was intentional. The federal government chose winners and losers." MTSU speakers primarily addressed social justice during the other lectures in the series. Topics included LGBT+ student activism, women’s equality while working during the Depression, immigrant identity, and African Americans’ current fight for voter justice. For more information about the Honors Lecture Series, please email philip.phillips@mtsu.edu. Faculty and Staff
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