Sparking the 'social imagination'

MacKay Lecture Series George Steinmetz, Charles Tilly Collegiate Professor of Sociology and German Studies at the University of Michigan, "From States to Empires: Sociologists as Imperial Policymakers, Critics, and Theorists since the Nineteenth Century." Thursday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m. in Room 127, Computer Science Building. Alison Brysk, Mellichamp Professor of Global Governance at the University of California, "Human Rights as Global Social Imagination." Tuesday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m. in Room 117, Sir James Dunn Building. Charli Carpenter, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, "Issue Adoption in Transnational Networks: Findings from Conversations with Human Rights Practitioners. Thursday, Nov. 4, 7 p.m. in Room 127, Computer Science Building.

Environmental disasters, child soldiers, economic crisis and global pandemics are but a few of the problems plaguing our world today. While on the surface these problems may seem broad and unrelated, they in fact share more than what meets the eye.
 
These are some of the quandaries that the 2010-2011 MacKay lecture series will attempt to explore. Since the 1999-2000 academic year, the MacKay lecture series has been offering thought provoking and timely discussion on a wide range of topics from the perspective of the liberal and performing arts. This year’s series is hosted by the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology and is entitled “Global Change and the Need for a New Social Imagination.”

The goal of the MacKay lecture series is to engage the entire community, both at the university and beyond the walls of academia. By examining current issues from different and unique perspectives, we are able to see the world around us in a different way.

The chance to examine issues from a sociological standpoint is not always given but hopefully this will change. According to Howard Ramos, organizer and Dalhousie University professor, the point of this year’s lecture series is to “get a pulse about what social scientists can contribute to these issues. We don’t hear a lot of people analyzing social interactions or offering a social perspective on how the world’s problems can be solved.”

The first lecture, “From States to Empires: Sociologists as Imperial Policymakers, Critics, and Theorists since the Nineteenth Century" will be held on Thursday, September 16 and will be given by George Steinmetz, Tilly Collegiate Professor of Sociology and German Studies at the University of Michigan. Although the title of the lecture may sound very broad and complex, Dr. Steinmetz will be discussing current events such as the U.S. war on terror; a topic that has received widespread media coverage in the past few years.

Subsequent lecturers are Alison Brysk, Mellichamp Professor of Global Governance at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Brysk’s lecture is entitled “Human Rights as Global Social Imagination." The third lecturer in the series will be Charli Carpenter, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Carpenter’s lecture is entitled "Issue Adoption in Transnational Networks: Findings from Conversations with Human Rights Practitioners."

A fourth and final lecture is always decided upon by the Department of History as a way to pay tribute to the namesake of the MacKay lectures. This year, it will be presented by Steven Pincus of Yale University in March of 2011.

The MacKay lecture series is funded through an endowment fund. The fund is a gift from Mrs. Gladys MacKay in appreciation of the education her husband, the Rev. Malcolm Ross MacKay received at Dalhousie University. Rev. MacKay graduated with a BA in history in 1927.

The MacKay lecture series is free of charge and open to the public.

LINK: MacKay Lecture Series, 2010-11