Syracuse Symposium will focus on migration; relevant courses sought

Syracuse Symposium will focus on migration; relevant courses soughtApril 16, 2008Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

Last semester, the Syracuse Symposium Committee announced that the fall 2008 Syracuse Symposium would explore the theme of “Migration.”

Migration means movement: to warmer climes, safe havens, deeper insights and new perspectives. To ask how birds migrate is to engage the biological and physical sciences fully, and also explore the mysteries of signal detection and transmission. To ask what explains a refugee population calls for inquiry into history, economics, politics, religion and more. Migration — whether of a student changing majors or an early people crossing the Bering Strait — changes what is left behind even as it creates something new. Ideas, styles, artistic trends and patterns of behavior also migrate. To explore these phenomena is to probe the dynamic of human existence in all its dimensions, through all the many lenses the University offers.

The committee received and reviewed many suggestions regarding keynote speakers, performances and exhibitions for the 2008 Syracuse Symposium and is in the midst of planning an engaging and exciting schedule.

Faculty members who will be teaching a course in fall 2008 relevant to the Symposium theme of “Migration” are asked to contact the Symposium Committee. Symposium-related courses are listed on the series’ website, and faculty members are encouraged to include Symposium speakers and events in course curricula. Those interested in having their course designated as a 2008 Syracuse Symposium course should e-mail Kandice Salomone, associate dean for administration in The College of Arts and Sciences and chair of the Syracuse Symposium Committee, at salomone@syr.edu and include a course description, draft syllabus and other relevant information, preferably by May 21. As in previous years, there are limited resources available to support Symposium-related courses.

For information on Syracuse Symposium 2007: Justice, visit http://symposium.syr.edu. Information for Syracuse Symposium 2008: Migration will be available later this summer.