OXFORD, Miss. – The question of whether everyone should attend college is the topic of a symposium organized by the Society of Philosophers in America, or SOPHIA, and set for Friday (Nov. 1) at the University of Mississippi.
The session on “Should Everyone Go to College” begins at 3 p.m. on the first floor of Bryant Hall. Expected to last three hours with an intermission, the symposium is free and open to the public.
The idea for the symposium grew out of a debate arising from the 2012 presidential campaigns. President Barack Obama called for all Americans to complete one year of post-secondary education, but challenger Gov. Mitt Romney expressed concerns about such a call and explained that his plans focused on the avoidance of debt and on job creation.Symposium participants will discuss the many questions that philosophers can tease out of a debate about whether all Americans should go to college.
“We want to encourage more dialogue about this issue,” said Eric Weber, UM associate professor of public policy leadership and executive director of SOPHIA. “We hope that this symposium will allow scholars, educators, community members, parents and students to voice their opinions.”
The event will feature panelist presentations during the first session, and the second will feature conversation about the symposium’s central questions. Among them, participants will examine ways of advising young adults and parents of students about higher education. Refreshments will be served during the intermission.
The panelists include Tommy Curry of Texas A&M University, Bertha Manninen of Arizona State University, Chris Surprenant of the University of New Orleans and Amy Wells Dolan, UM associate dean of education and associate professor of leadership and counselor education.
The symposium is sponsored by the American Philosophical Association, Mississippi Humanities Council and the UM Office of Provost, Department of Public Policy Leadership, College of Liberal Arts, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, and the Lecture Series Committee.
SOPHIA is a nonprofit organization with two primary aims. The first is to promote education in the philosophical ideas, practices and traditions of America and of other world cultures. The second is to sponsor conferences, debates and symposia and otherwise to provide a forum for the exchange of philosophical ideas among scholars of America and other countries and cultures, all for the purpose of educating philosophers and teachers of philosophy from diverse cultural and philosophical traditions and furthering international philosophical communication.
For more information on the SOPHIA symposium, go to http://www.philosophersinamerica.com/college.html. For questions or for assistance related to a disability, contact Eric Weber at etweber@olemiss.edu.