Spring 2018 GCIC Academic Symposium

"Narrating the Human Footprint"

Theme: What Might “Narrating the Human Footprint” Mean?

We are human, so we tell stories. We tell stories to explain to others who we are, what we are, when we are, and maybe most important, why we are. We tell ourselves these stories too so that we can better understand ourselves; it’s in that deeper understanding of the self that we can generate an understanding of others.

These stories reveal much about us, the storytellers. The question is then, what story are we telling, to whom, and why?

We are human, so we impact our world. When we consider the impact of our predecessors and our contemporaries, we work to understand the stories motivating our past and present actions. We do all of this because we are human and our biological intentions are to survive, to be, and to cultivate and maintain human existence.

So we tell stories. We read in our past the stories that led to the present. As college students and scholars, we are in the business of propelling our species forward which, of course, means studying the past and present as we inch toward what we hope is a better future.

We tell stories in order to understand what constitutes a “better” future. We tell stories in order to ensure a “better” future.

Examples of Questions to Ponder | All Subjects Welcome

This 2018 theme, “Narrating the Human Footprint,” asks us to look at the threads in our common human history that bind and distinguish us. It asks us to look at our human impact on our natural and manmade environment, on our community, region, economy, politics, art, artifacts, children, parents, neighbors, and technology. It asks us to read, interpret, and tell our human story from as many perspectives as possible. It asks us to look far into our history, to look critically at our present, to look boldly into the future and ask who have we been? What are we now? When did we become? Where will we be? And why are we?

This year’s theme is broad and lends itself to cross-disciplinary examination, which is the driving force of our academic symposium.

Goal

Our intention is to enable students and their supporters to think more deeply than we’re able in the classroom while sharing in formal and less formal networking opportunities.

How to Start

We invite you to contact Professor Dalel Serda (dserda@com.edu) if you want elaboration on possibilities. Please submit 200 to 300-word abstracts through our abstract submission link by Tuesday, March 27, 2018, at 7 p.m. Please follow the abstract protocols of the subject you select. For specifics, please ask a professor who may serve as an advisor for your project, or contact us directly.

Please contact us with questions or comments.

Dalel Serda
Assistant Professor of English
GCIC Academic Symposium Chair
409-933-8497
dserda@com.edu