Every year IUSB selects a new ‘theme’ for the campus in an effort to focus the campus and the community on a single topic that can reach across various disciplines and inspire dialogues. This is done through a series of lectures and special events done over the course of the fall and spring semesters.
“The idea is to generate some common set of issues that we as a campus can share, and maybe to see some connections in places that might not have been otherwise visible,” said Steve Gerencser, associate professor of political science and one of the co-coordinators for this year’s campus theme.
This year’s campus theme is “The Urban and the Rural”.
The idea is to examine the differences between inner city life and life in small towns or rural areas, emphasizing the similarities and differences between the two lifestyles, and what this divide means in historical, political, economic, and a variety of other contexts.
Gerencser volunteered to co-coordinate the theme after he came up with the idea for what the theme should be.
“I became interested during the 2008 presidential election campaign in how various politicians and the media sliced and diced the American electorate,” Gerencser explained.
“Especially one division that kept coming up that took the familiar Red State/Blue State version [of]American politics and grafted it onto small town and rural American versus big city.”
Gerencser said that this divide was nothing new and goes back at least to debates between Jefferson and Hamilton.
His initial idea was to focus on how the urban/rural divide has affected America. Speaking to members of other departments helped him realize that this issue has a much broader historical and geo-political impact.
He also hopes that maybe this will help people to see how the divide really isn’t so wide after all.
“Consider a place like South Bend,” Gerencser said. “Compared to a small town like Middlebury it might seem like a big city with serious urban issues. But compared to Chicago, it is a relatively small town. It doesn’t really fit the urban rural divide.”
The biggest event for the campus theme was held last semester when Alex Kolowitz, author of the campus theme’s official book There Are No Children Here, came to campus to meet with students and give an address.
Nancy Botkin, senior lecturer for the English department and co-chair for the campus theme, said some events for this semester include assisting with the school’s philosophy day. Dr. Paul Thompson will give a speech on agricultural ethics, which will be held on March 23.
On March 4, there will be a panel to discuss new urbanism. The panel will include Andrew Von Maur of Andrew’s University, and representatives of the Eddy Street commons and Ironworks in Mishawaka.
She also said that she is hoping to have Father Daniel Groody, who is both a Catholic priest and a scholar of immigration issues, to discuss issues involving the American/Mexican border. No time commitment has been made for his discussion as of yet. .
Next year’s theme will be ‘the meaning of work.’ Plans for this theme are not yet in place.
'The Urban and the Rural' events planned for March
Published: Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Updated: Tuesday, January 26, 2010
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