The Hauenstein Center Collection

In this episode, we hear from Keisha Blain, a professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh, senior blog editor at the African American Intellectual History Society, and editor of the Global Black History section of "Public Books."

Keisha Blain has, as much as any scholar, redefined what it means to be a publically engaged academic in the 21st century. She’s senior blog editor at the African American Intellectual History Society, and has contributed significantly to the fast rise in significance and influence of that organization among historians and folks interested in the history of African American thought. She is also one of the co-founders of the #Charelstonsyllabus, a movement on Twitter that offered a detailed reading list, crowdsourced among historians, to offer a detailed history of racial violence in the US. That syllabus drew a ton of attention, at the New York Times and elsewhere. We talk about Charleston syllabus, as well as the Trump 2.0 syllabus, which Blain also co-authored.

We also discuss what it’s like for Blain, as a professor on a college campus, to lead class discussions about race as well as gender. We take up the common refrain heard in magazines and in the mainstream media that students these days are “liberal snowflakes” who can’t bear to consider ideas opposed to their own. Blain offers her own take on this issue.

In this episode, we hear from Keisha Blain, a professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh, senior blog editor at the African American Intellectual History Society, and editor of the Global Black History section of "Public Books."

Keisha Blain has, as much as any scholar, redefined what it means to be a publically engaged academic in the 21st century. She’s senior blog editor at the African American Intellectual History Society, and has contributed significantly to the fast rise in significance and influence of that organization among historians and folks interested in the history of African American thought. She is also one of the co-founders of the #Charelstonsyllabus, a movement on Twitter that offered a detailed reading list, crowdsourced among historians, to offer a detailed history of racial violence in the US. That syllabus drew a ton of attention, at the New York Times and elsewhere. We talk about Charleston syllabus, as well as the Trump 2.0 syllabus, which Blain also co-authored.

We also discuss what it’s like for Blain, as a professor on a college campus, to lead class discussions about race as well as gender. We take up the common refrain heard in magazines and in the mainstream media that students these days are “liberal snowflakes” who can’t bear to consider ideas opposed to their own. Blain offers her own take on this issue.

In this special episode, guest interviewer Winston Elliott talks with Christopher Nelson, president of St. John's College, about his work at St John’s, and about the unique kind of liberal arts education offered there.

In this special episode, guest interviewer Winston Elliott talks with Christopher Nelson, president of St. John's College, about his work at St John’s, and about the unique kind of liberal arts education offered there.

Today we hear from Peter Kalkavage, a tutor at St John’s College and author of The Logic of Desire: An Introduction to Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit. Peter and I discuss his writing about philosophy and music.

Reading Peter’s writing, you can tell that one of his aims isn’t just to think about music as a fine art, but to think about music as itself a way of thinking. His approach allows him to write about and think through music in some surprising or perhaps just unfamiliar ways: he asks how music contributes to the formation of one’s opinions, one’s beliefs about the world. But then he also writes about music in ways that are familiar, but that require a great deal of imagination and precision. Peter asks why music, particularly classical music and sacred music but also some rock n roll thrown in, why music makes us feel certain ways, gives form to our emotions—in a sense, helps us feel our own emotions.

Today we hear from Peter Kalkavage, a tutor at St John’s College and author of The Logic of Desire: An Introduction to Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit. Peter and I discuss his writing about philosophy and music.

Reading Peter’s writing, you can tell that one of his aims isn’t just to think about music as a fine art, but to think about music as itself a way of thinking. His approach allows him to write about and think through music in some surprising or perhaps just unfamiliar ways: he asks how music contributes to the formation of one’s opinions, one’s beliefs about the world. But then he also writes about music in ways that are familiar, but that require a great deal of imagination and precision. Peter asks why music, particularly classical music and sacred music but also some rock n roll thrown in, why music makes us feel certain ways, gives form to our emotions—in a sense, helps us feel our own emotions.

Today we hear from Jon Lauck, a Midwestern historian and the author, most recently, of "From Warm Center to Ragged Edge: The Erosion of Midwestern Literary and Historical Regionalism."

The book get its title from a line in the first chapter of "The Great Gatsby." Nick Carraway, the narrator, is a Midwesterner who’s decided to go East to New York to learn the Bond business. He’s just returned to America from World War I, and notes that, “Instead of being the warm center of the world, the Middle West now seemed like the ragged edge of the universe.”

That’s an attitude plenty of Midwesterners seem to take to their region of birth—at least, that’s one perspective about the Midwest we often encounter in American fiction and literary criticism. Jon Lauck’s book examines this trope, one might call it a cliché; as does Marilynne Robinson, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Gilead, who says that Lauck’s book “exposes the origins of this extraordinarily potent cliché.” Robinson liked the book; so did other Midwesterners such as Tom Brokaw, who writes that his own prarie roots “roots have served me well in the intellectual and concrete canyons of the eastern seaboard and it is good to be reminded why.”

Today we hear from Jon Lauck, a Midwestern historian and the author, most recently, of "From Warm Center to Ragged Edge: The Erosion of Midwestern Literary and Historical Regionalism."

The book get its title from a line in the first chapter of "The Great Gatsby." Nick Carraway, the narrator, is a Midwesterner who’s decided to go East to New York to learn the Bond business. He’s just returned to America from World War I, and notes that, “Instead of being the warm center of the world, the Middle West now seemed like the ragged edge of the universe.”

That’s an attitude plenty of Midwesterners seem to take to their region of birth—at least, that’s one perspective about the Midwest we often encounter in American fiction and literary criticism. Jon Lauck’s book examines this trope, one might call it a cliché; as does Marilynne Robinson, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Gilead, who says that Lauck’s book “exposes the origins of this extraordinarily potent cliché.” Robinson liked the book; so did other Midwesterners such as Tom Brokaw, who writes that his own prarie roots “roots have served me well in the intellectual and concrete canyons of the eastern seaboard and it is good to be reminded why.”

In this episode, we hear from Chadd Dowding, program manager of the Cook Leadership Academy at the Hauenstein Center. I ask Chadd how he goes about identifying emergent leaders in their early 20s and how he helps them develop their projects and initiatives. I also ask Chadd how the students he works with, especially those involved in politics, have responded to election 2016. We also hear from Micaela Cole and Matthew Oudbier, two student-fellows in the academy. Micaela is on her way to getting an undergraduate degree in political science, and Matt is about to start a phd program in philosophy. I ask how they define leadership in their respective fields. And they clue us in on the ways they’re trying to orient their work to the changing political climate in America.

In this episode, we hear from Chadd Dowding, program manager of the Cook Leadership Academy at the Hauenstein Center. I ask Chadd how he goes about identifying emergent leaders in their early 20s and how he helps them develop their projects and initiatives. I also ask Chadd how the students he works with, especially those involved in politics, have responded to election 2016. We also hear from Micaela Cole and Matthew Oudbier, two student-fellows in the academy. Micaela is on her way to getting an undergraduate degree in political science, and Matt is about to start a phd program in philosophy. I ask how they define leadership in their respective fields. And they clue us in on the ways they’re trying to orient their work to the changing political climate in America.