Julia Schleck, associate professor and vice chair in the Department of English, will start the 2022-23 CAS Inquire lecture series with "America's uncertain search for truth and the fate of universities" on September 6 at 5:30 p.m. in the City Union Swanson Auditorium. The talk is free and open to the public and will also be livestreamed on Zoom. Register for the Zoom link at go.unl.edu/casinquiresep22.
The CAS Inquire program's 2022-23 theme is "Searching for Common Ground in a Polarized World." Students in the program connect with college thought leaders and other inquisitive students to discuss ideas, using a college-wide series of public lectures as a focal point. The series launched in September of 2019 with the theme "Rise of the Machines" and centered around the theme "Pleasure and Pain" in 2021-22.
Schleck's talk will discuss the differences between legally-protected free speech and the tradition of academic freedom within United States universities. She will explore how academic freedom was designed to protect a certain vision of higher education's role in our society. The modern challenge to that vision forms the primary question she poses to students through this lecture: what role do they believe universities should play in our country's future?
Schleck's book Dirty Knowledge: Academic Freedom in the Age of Neoliberalism was recently published by University of Nebraska Press as part of the Provocations series.
This academic year's series includes five lectures in the disciplines of English, political science, sociology, and history, culminating in a panel discussion with the speakers in March of 2023.
During the three-year program, CAS Inquire students take specialized courses, help with facilitating the program, and enjoy additional benefits. They can apply, or be nominated by faculty, for the program as freshmen.
