Series description
Watching the news media today, it is easy to see that we live in a world afflicted with political and social turmoil, wars, and environmental disasters. In the face of this it can be difficult to maintain a positive outlook, but in both the past and the present we can find examples that give us reasons to still be hopeful. Join us as instructors from various departments at Langara College explore some of these cases, showing us that hope can be found even in the gloomiest of times, sometimes in unexpected places.
All lectures will take place at Old Hastings Mill Store Museum, 1575 Alma St, Vancouver, BC V6R 3P3, on the specified dates (Friday evenings), at 7:00 p.m.
Entry is open to all and by donation.
Series dates
- September 12: Hoping for Peace: Lessons from the Crusades
- October 10: Finding Hope in the Classroom: Teaching an Art History of Exclusion
- November 14: How Fairy Tales Can Fix the World
Hoping for Peace: Lessons from the Crusades
September 12
Niall Christie (History)
The crusades are often depicted in the media as a time of unrelenting wars between Christianity and Islam. However, this greatly misrepresents a period that, while at times witnessing vicious conflicts between Christians and Muslims, nonetheless saw extended periods of peace, trade, and cultural exchange. In this talk we will explore the wider interactions between the people who lived through these times, to see what lessons we can draw from the past that might help us in the present.
Finding Hope in the Classroom: Teaching an Art History of Exclusion
October 10
Randip Bakshi (Art History)
Should we ask painful questions in class? I start my course, Worldviews: A Global Approach to Art, with this prompt. I use Vancouver as an example of global currents, especially migration and movement, to ask difficult questions about our city’s past. By using neighbourhoods in Vancouver—some ethnic enclaves, others not so much—I introduce students to the idea of urban space and architecture as an art historical text. I also try and use the histories around these neighbourhoods as a way to ask difficult questions about our present. Issues such as belonging, ghettoization/homogenous neighbourhoods, integration, and/or racism become central to our class discussions. In this talk, I want to share how Vancouver is connected to larger global forces. I also want to share my students’ projects and the assignments in my classes to highlight the difficult questions we all need to hold space for. My students and I find hope in our classroom as we navigate these painful questions.
How Fairy Tales Can Fix the World
November 14
Erin Robb (English)
We all need a Gretel, Alice, or Little Prince in our world—child heroes whose stands against despotic authority, commitment to justice, and ability to love make them more than just good role models for children. Following the breadcrumb trail of stories from fairytales to modern children’s literature, we will look at what we can learn from the wonderlands of fiction and find that there may just be a way to live happily ever after.
