Depth of Thought, Depth of Imagination: Challenging Superficiality

Event Information:

Monday, Nov. 14, 2011
4 p.m. Program
5:30 p.m. Reception
Eckstein Hall, 1215 W. Michigan Street
Appellate Courtroom
RSVP by Nov. 7 to universityspecialevents@marquette.edu or call (414) 288-7431 for more information

In conjunction with the Inauguration, Marquette will host a series of academic gatherings to explore issues raised by Adolfo Nicolas, S.J., superior general of the Society of Jesus, in a landmark April 2010 address in Mexico City. In the address, "Depth, Universality, and Learned Ministry: Challenges to Jesuit Higher Education Today," Father Nicolas challenged those shepherding Catholic, Jesuit colleges and universities of higher learning to renew and recreate these institutions in response to the challenges and opportunities posed by an increasingly interconnected world.

On a globe swimming in high-speed communications, information of all kinds becomes easier to access, but "serious, critical thinking often gets short-circuited," he observed. As Jesuit universities and colleges worldwide, including Marquette, become places of greater global exchange and global service, he asked, are these institutions tapping into the "universality" of St. Ignatius' vision and building truly "effective international networks of Jesuit higher education?" And given the rich Jesuit tradition of research that brings together intelligence, imagination, ingenuity and rigor in ways that make a difference in people's lives, what is the response to global pressures that widen the inequalities between those who benefit from and those denied benefits of knowledge production? What is the response to pressures that spread secularism and fundamentalism?

Guest presenter Michael Zampelli, S.J. of Santa Clara University

The first academic gathering will be held Monday, November 14, 2011, and will take up the first of the challenges identified by Nicolas — "the globalization of superficiality." This one-day event, Depth of Thought, Depth of Imagination: Challenging Superficiality, will feature several Marquette educators and guest presenter Rev. Michael Zampelli, S.J., Paul Locatelli, S.J., Professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Santa Clara University.  The event will be held in the Appellate Courtroom of Eckstein Hall, 1215 West Michigan Street, with the program beginning at 4:00 p.m. and a reception to follow at 5:30 p.m.

Father Zampelli’s work in the performing arts is particularly promising for an exploration of “depth of thought” and “depth of imagination.” Theater, film, music — all of these — play a powerful role in staking out our society’s notions of the human person. We plan to explore how such notions influence what we do as educators and administrators. Father Zampelli’s presentation will be preceded by two or three shorter reflections by faculty and administrators who will suggest what the challenges to depth look like in the classroom, the administrator’s office and especially our students’ own lives. Our hope is that this event will provoke a discussion about how to look with fresh eyes at our work and the world inhabited by our students.

As Nicolas implored us, " ... In response to [this] globalization of superficiality, I suggest that we need to study the merging cultural world of our students more deeply and find creative ways of promoting depth of thought and imagination, a depth that is transformative of the person." His appeal echoes in the theme of the Inauguration of Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., "Reflect, Imagine, Transform."