SU School of Education Professor Steven Taylor to present MLK Commemorative Lecture at Vanderbilt University

SU School of Education Professor Steven Taylor to present MLK Commemorative Lecture at Vanderbilt UniversityJanuary 10, 2007Patrick Farrellpmfarrel@syr.edu

Steven J. Taylor, professor of cultural foundations of education in Syracuse University’s School of Education and co-director of SU’s Center on Human Policy, Law and Disability Studies, is the invited speaker for Vanderbilt University’s Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Lecture on Development and Developmental Disabilities, Monday, Jan. 15.

Sponsored by Vanderbilt University’s Kennedy Center Lectures on Development and Developmental Disabilities, the lecture will take place at 4:10 p.m. in the Kennedy Center/MRL Building on the Vanderbilt campus in Nashville, Tenn. Taylor’s presentation is titled “Acts of Conscience: World War II Conscientious Objectors and Institutional Exposes.”

The lecture focuses on WWII conscientious objectors (COs) who, while performing alternative public service at state mental hospitals and training schools, helped expose the appalling conditions found in those institutions.

Shocked by what they observed, the COs led a series of major exposes in leading newspapers and news magazines and convinced major public figures to support their cause. Taylor will explore the acts of conscience performed by the COs and will address broader issues of civic responsibility and the illusive quest for social justice — themes related to the memory and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

Taylor specializes in qualitative research methods, the sociology of disability, disability studies and disability policy. He is author or co-author of seven books and serves as editor of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

For more information, contact Courtney L. Evans, communications program coordinator, Vanderbilt University Kennedy Center Institute, at (615) 322-5658 or courtney.evans@Vanderbilt.Edu.