The Jefferson Scholars Foundation held its biennial Forum for Interdisciplinary Dialogue last week, bringing scholars from disparate fields together to discuss issues related to ethics and development.
The forum consisted of speakers from both external institutions and University departments, giving each a platform to discuss topics from his or her respective field. It was organized and run by Jefferson Fellows.
The mission of the forum was to encourage the University community to engage across disciplinary lines, said Ben Skipper, director of graduate and undergraduate programs at the Jefferson Scholars Foundation.
The foundation asked for scholarly submissions and paper abstracts to decide which speaker to include, Jefferson Fellow Eloisa Grifo said.
“We tried to pick the ones we thought were the best or thought would be the most interesting in terms of what we were trying to do, and would complement each other,” Grifo said.
The advantages of interdisciplinary forums include the variety of topics made available. Brian Neumann, a College graduate student who presented a paper titled “Segregation and the Struggle for the Soul of a Southern Baptist University,” said wide exposure facilitates academic growth.
“One of the things I love about the Jefferson Foundation is their focus on interdisciplinary connection,” Nuemann said. “I feel so often as a grad student you get stuck in your own discipline — when you reach out to other disciplines you grow as a scholar.”
The quality of the discussions that the presentations sparked were meaningful and productive, Neumann said.
“A really fruitful conversation came out of [my presentation], both about history and how we approach racial justice in our own time,” he said.
The conference was open to all, but was mostly attended by academics.
“I think in the future the one thing we really want to improve is to bring more people in,” Grifo said. “There were a lot of people that enjoyed it that weren’t from academia.”
Read More
Class of 2024 celebrates graduation at final exercises
By Finn Trainer | 6 days agoIn his opening remarks, University President Jim Ryan praised the graduating class for their resilience during challenging times.
U.Va. Alumni Association submits plans for new Alumni Hall building
By Caroline Hagood | May 18, 2024West said that despite the proposal moving through City Council’s review process, the project is still years away from becoming a reality.
Graduating student leaders reflect on how they impacted the University community
By Jackie Bond and Brandon Kile | May 18, 2024According to Lilian Rojas, Board of Visitors student representative and fourth-year Batten student, the Class of 2024 is defined by its resilience.
