Common Ground: Inside the “Educated” Mind

The College of Liberal Arts will present the 2019 Common Ground event Monday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. in Rudder Theater.

Titled “Inside the ‘Educated’ Mind: A Discussion with Common Ground Faculty,” five College of Liberal Arts faculty members will discuss this year’s Common Ground book, Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover. The faculty members will provide their disciplinary insight into the book and engage  in thought-provoking discussion.

The panelists this year will include Claire Katz, professor of philosophy; Theresa Morris, professor of sociology; Robin Veldman, professor of religious studies; Matthew Vess, professor of psychological and brain sciences; and Anna Wolfe, professor of communication.

Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence and Strategic Initiatives Leroy G. Dorsey said the event will bring together a diverse set of voices to engage in conversation about the book’s themes.

“These faculty are the top scholars in their respective fields,” Dorsey said. “They’ll share their disciplinary insights into the book’s themes — themes that range from family violence, religion, literacy, patriarchy and other impulses salient to our current social climate.”

The Common Ground experience provides first year students in the College of Liberal Arts the opportunity to read a common book on a current, socially significant topic,and then use the book across myriad learning experiences throughout their first year of college.

“This is a true liberal arts event,” Dorsey said. “Students and other attendees at this event will gain a richer understanding into how the value of an education, and other cultural forces, can influence a person’s life trajectory.”