UIW Hosts TEDx: 21st-Century Revival of the Liberal Arts

On Saturday, September 23, UIW hosted its very own TEDx event in collaboration with the famously known media organization, TED Conferences. TED Conferences, or TED Talks, are international talks that center upon various topics and are spread online for others to enjoy under the slogan “ideas worth spreading."

UIW’s Dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, Dr. Javier Clavere organized the TEDxUIW event centered around the topic of the “21st-Century Revival of the Liberal Arts.” In total, nine speakers, including Clavere (Dr. Lopita Nath, Dr. Doshie Piper, Dr. Muhammad Manzur Alam, Prof. Liz Fisher, Dr. Sean Viña, Dr. John Kainer, Dr. Tanja Stampfl and Dr. Benjamin Miele), contributed to the event and presented on subjects relating to the overall topic of focus.

“The overall goal for the event was to use multiple prompts,” Clavere revealed, “One of them was to promote faculty research and their work. The other one is to promote what we're doing at the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. And then the last one, how we are to redefine the revival of the liberal arts model for the 21st century.”

Subjects presented included climate change, refugee experiences, mental illness, entrepreneurship, etc., all diverse topics that ultimately connected to the event's larger theme. “It created this sense of unity because we're all in the same. We're all doing our own little things here. But then once you put it all together, it's really powerful.”

Clavere spoke on “Humanistic Entrepreneurship," a term that refers to what needs to be considered in order to develop innovation within society for the common good.

He explained that value production and creation are the foundation of any entrepreneurial process. He addressed that there are three commonly known layers to value production: economic or financial value, social values, and sustainability.

But in order to reach humanistic entrepreneurship, Clavere proposed that a fourth layer must be added. A layer that he refers to as either “Humanistic Value” or “Human Dignity Value Proposition." In this layer, innovation is created while placing human dignity at its center.

“Every venture that anticipates affecting humanity, our environment, our global home, and our human existence must be grounded in the concept that ‘Human Dignity’ is the essential value proposition and must be placed at the core of the value proposition design.”

He explained that the same thought is embedded within the liberal arts model of education. By doing so, Clavere hopes that this application will encourage students to adopt a mindset that considers how they can develop solutions to the challenges we face in our ever-changing world.

“Humanistic Entrepreneurship also focuses on the legacy for future generations, having at its core and primary concern the upholding and the perpetuation of human dignity, while simultaneously promoting sustainable processes, social value and social consciousness, and concerns beyond a value creation or innovation.”

Through their presentations, the speakers educated, enlightened, and inspired their audience during the event.

For more information on upcoming events on campus, click here.