Southwestern University has been hosting the Brown Symposium for almost four decades. Attending the symposium is a unique opportunity to experience new ideas and points of view. Each symposium is constructed around a specific topic in one or more areas of academic study. Past symposia cover a broad spectrum of subjects, ranging from “Cosmology: the Changing Philosophies of Science” to “Drawing and Crossing Boundaries: the Roots of Texas Music.” This year’s subject, “Art and Revolution,” was developed by Dr. Michael Cooper, a music professor and a member of faculty here at SU, who specializes in Music Literature. The Keynote Symposium, held during November of 2016, centered on a corresponding topic: “Language and Revolution: How Words Change the World.”
The 38th Brown Symposium, which will take place March 1st through March 3rd of this year, promises a stellar line up; the Symposium will feature thought-provoking panels, five acclaimed guest speakers, two gallery exhibits, the world premiere of new music, and even a performance of In the Next Room,or the vibrator play, a critically acclaimed play by Sarah Ruhl. The play focuses on changing perceptions of sexuality and technology in the Victorian era, and will be performed by Southwestern’s own theatre students in addition to guest contributors. The play will open the Symposium at 7:00 pm on March 1st, followed by a round table discussion between Sergio Costola of the Theatre department, and Eileen Cleere of the English department, as well as Kristen Rogers, an adjunct associate professor at Austin Community College, who directed the play.
Attendees of the 38th Symposium will have the opportunity to participate in one or both of the two public salons, where guests can converge with speakers in order to discuss the arts, revolutions, and the intersections therein, both throughout history and today.
Guest speakers include: internationally renowned artist Luis Camnitzer; Dr. Felicia Hardison Londré, known for her fourteen published works and lecturing prowess; Reiland Rabaka, Chair of the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado; Dominica Radulescu, known for both her published works and for founding the National Symposium of Theater in Academe, and Barbara M. Stafford, who is the author of ten books and more than seventy-five articles, many focused on the intersection of visual arts and physical sciences.
The Brown Symposium would be impossible without funding provided by the Brown Foundation, Inc., which is based in Houston, Texas. The event will kick off on the evening of Wednesday, March 1st, and come to a close in the early afternoon of March 3rd. All Southwestern students are encouraged to attend at least one of the events throughout the Symposium. Even better, it is open to the public, and admission is entirely free for both students and guests.