Columbia University professor Jean Howard kicked off the Syracuse Symposia with the reading of her essay, looking at the portrayal of rape in William Shakespeare’s early modernist-era poem, “Lucrece.”

Each year, the Humanities Center fosters scholastic engagement with the annual symposia, which consists of public lectures and presentations. The symposia, currently in its third year, began Feb. 18 and will continue until April 23.

The various lectures at the symposia are presented by either graduate fellows or faculty fellows from the College of Arts and Sciences, according to the center’s website.

The Humanities Center offers annual faculty fellowships for the spring semester and dissertation fellowships to students of participating doctoral programs in Arts and Sciences, according to the symposia’s website.

Gregg Lambert, who founded the Humanities Center in 2008, said the annual spring symposia allow the university to highlight its faculty and fellows.

“This symposia allows me to talk about my research while engaging other scholars,” said Rinku Chatterjee, one of the graduate fellows. “I can generate conversation in conjunction with the topic.”

The symposia is a part of a larger initiative by The Central New York Humanities Corridor, which is made up of Syracuse University, Cornell University, the University of Rochester and several other regional liberal arts colleges, said Lambert.

The Humanities Corridor, which was initially led by Cathryn Newton, dean emerita of Arts and Sciences, established the symposia’s three basic principles of scholarly strength, connecting various faculty networks and creating potential regional collaboration, according to the website.

The symposia also allow the faculty to bring in national or international speakers to discuss the work on the subject they are researching. Multiple organizations, including the Humanities Corridor, have partnered with the event, Lambert said.

“This is definitely the biggest symposia so far,” said Lambert. “It’s all focused on research, and specifically research that the faculty is doing here.”

Fourteen public lectures are scheduled, with professors coming from Arizona State University, the University of Minnesota and Cornell University, among other research institutions. The Humanities Center and lectures are funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which is a part of SU’s Billion Dollar Campaign, according to the website.

Freshman biology major Ella D’Amico, who attended Monday evening’s lecture, said after seeing the first symposium that she was interested in seeing future presentations.

“I think it that it is interesting to hear from somebody who has thought about something so interesting and specific,” D’Amico said. “It’s really great to hear from a point of view from a different perspective.”

Published on February 19, 2013 at 12:14 am

Contact Kelvin: kbread@syr.edu