E/RS lecture series kicks-off

Most Thursday evenings comprise of the student body working on homework, avoiding homework or eating dinner.

However, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 22, many students astounded their parents and impressed their friends by spending the evening "learning for learning's sake."

The opportunity to attend such lecture did not end Thursday; it will be the subject matter for the new Ethics/Religion and Society Lecture Series, a sequence that will be ongoing from 2011-14.

All of the lectures will be free of charge and open to the public.The open lecture series was purposed to examine the meanings of justice, tolerance and diversity and how they are intertwined with one another.

The objective is to question how different avenues towards justice impact the conception of tolerance and diversity.

On Thursday, Xavier hosted the first of the lecture series at the Cintas Center with Professor Rémi Brague.

Brauge teaches at the University of Paris Sorbonne and the University of Munich.

Besides teaching Arabic and religious philosophy, Brague has a multitude of works translated into English, including The Legend of the Middle Ages: Philosophical Explorations of Medieval Christianity, Judaism, and Islam and The Law of God: The Philosophical History of An Idea, both of which are published by the University of Chicago Press.

Xavier University philosophy professor Steven Frankel explains that the main focus of Brague's work is to find the uniting relationship between philosophy and faith that has influenced western civilization over the last 1500 years.

The relationship of these topics helps to explain both the reasons for the West's productivity and the potential deterioration, or "the failure of the Human Project."

On Sunday, there was another oration that involved Professors Lani Guinier and Gerald Torres.

Guinier is the first black female professor at Harvard Law School to be tenured. She has many publications that are often subjects of fiery debate.

Torres, a law professor at the University of Texas, has served in the Justice Department and has notoriety for his Latino legal rights work.

The two professors presented a compelling speech that built upon the foundations of justice and diversity.

They opened up a field of diversity much more complex than our societal norm.

Guinier reasoned that depth of diversity lies much deeper than the variety of skin colors in a room.

The lecture series has a significant amount of highly renowned professors both nationwide and worldwide.

The next lecture will take place at 7 p.m. on Oct. 30 in the Duff Banquet Center.

The rest of the series dates and guest speakers can be found on Xavier's website at http://www.xavier.edu/ers/.