The College of Human Expression

Speaking to members of the Board of Governors and several other university administrators, I was trying to give a succinct description of what gives the many varied disciplines within our college a shared identity and purpose.  "If someone told us today," I said, "that we could no longer use the name College of Arts and Letters, I might suggest College of Human Expression as an alternative."  Since then a number of people have mentioned to me that they liked the phrase, and although I have no designs on changing the name of the college I am giving it a test-run of sorts as a descriptive phrase that we might use in college publications.  Some of you may have noticed that I have included it in my email signature, for example, and I am sharing it here in hopes of eliciting feedback from the college and the broader community of arts and letters alumni and friends.

Certainly all of our disciplines focus on acts of expression -- music, speech, writing, visual arts, and so on.  As importantly, however, we all also devote ourselves to understanding and interpreting human expression, from its origins to its consequences.  We acknowledge that the worlds we experience are products of our amazing capacities for expression, and that to understand our creative acts is to understand ourselves.  To study and practice the arts and letters is to wrestle with the fundamental human challenge to seek and create meaning.

The stir over holiday displays on campus this past week, for me, draws attention to the importance of human expression as a focal point of the university's educational mission.  If I were to clip a few articles from The Standard and News-Leader (or, unfortunately from several national news outlets that picked up the story) and use them to create an interdisciplinary assignment, I might pose some of the following questions:

• What is the importance of the Christmas tree as a cultural and/or religious symbol?  From your personal experience and perspective, do you agree with the United States Supreme Court that it is a secular display?  If it is a secular display, why does it seem so fraught with religious meaning?
• What is the meaning of Christmas?  Has it ever been just a religious celebration?
• What Christian symbols have been appropriated from pagan origins?  How do physical representations (evergreens, eggs) come to take on entirely new meanings?  Do the "old" meanings go away?  Why would religions borrow symbols from other cultures or belief systems?  What are the differences between creating new symbols and appropriating old ones?
• What roles do the arts play in creating and perpetuating cultural and religious symbols?  Are there distinctions between art, religious art, popular culture expressions of religion, and art about religious subjects?
• What should be the expressive rights of majorities and minorities in a democratic society?  Beyond rights, what are their responsibilities?
• How and why did controversy over a holiday display arise in this place, with these people, at this time?  How does the accessibility of media affect how such situations are played out?
• Where are the borderlines of taste when it comes to commercialization of religious symbols and displays?  Does a musical ceramic Elvis Christmas tree have the same meaning as a 20-foot tree in Strong Hall?  Would you use a menorah shaped like a moose, with candles placed in the rack of antlers?
• If I put up a Christmas tree in my office, but also displayed a Mickey and Minnie Mouse menorah that I purchased at a large Judaica retailer, would that be disrespectful?
• Regardless of their religious persuasion or passion, most people seem to enjoy the artistic and cultural elements of the holidays -- lights, decorations, music, performances.  Does this speak to a human need for beauty?  A desire to be entertained?  Decades of successful Madison Avenue strategy?

And these are just my questions for the freshmen! 

More than concern for a search for meaning, to borrow a phrase from Victor Frankl's famous book, we all are engaged in making meaning, all of the time.  (The very fact that we might describe our efforts as a search for meaning implies a whole set of meanings that would make such a quest, well, um, meaningful.)  Regardless of whether one has religious convictions or what those might be, the existence of others' convictions, the reasons for those beliefs, their consequences, and the practical issues of living in a pluralistic society are questions of import for us all.

Atlantic Monthly contributing editor Gregg Easterbrook, in his book Beside Still Waters: Searching For Meaning in an Age of Doubt, writes, "Trying to sift through the question of what aspects of spirituality are profound and which are traceable to error ought to be seen as a positive exercise, helping us to concentrate on that portion of spirituality that is truly worth believing."  I believe this is equally true for believers who might be afraid to critically examine their beliefs and for skeptics who are tempted to see all spirituality as mere fabrication or delusion.  As disciplines, the arts and letters certainly have represented the full spectrum through the centuries, from Handel's Messiah to Beckett's Waiting for Godot, from Byzantine icons to Robert Maplethorpe, to name just a few Western examples.

What ignited in me a passion for my own discipline of communication was the realization that communication was a creative force, that human expression was the stuff of which the world is made.  Although each of our disciplines approaches this realization in many different ways and often for different reasons, it is what now drives my commitment to all the dimensions of our college.  What we do is critically important because it is who we -- all people -- are.   

So, let me know what you think about this "college of human expression" phrase.  Does it describe our college as well for you as it does for me?  Does it give others a sense of what arts and letters are about?  I would love it if you would use the "reply to this post" option to offer your opinion.

Free Lunch

There may or may not be a Santa Claus, but there is a free lunch.  Starting in January I would like to host a table in the Union Club once a week for interested faculty and staff.  I'll pick up the tab, and you can pick the topics of conversation.  To keep things organized, I've set up a form on surveymonkey.com where you can view the scheduled dates and indicate up to three days that you're available.  As we receive your responses you'll be contacted with confirmation of a specific date.  Did I mention that I'm picking up the tab?

To make your reservation, go to Free Lunch With The Dean.

Thank You For a Great First Six Months

Becoming Dean of this college has been a terrific opportunity, and I hope you feel as positive about our momentum and direction as I do.  To all of you who have said "yes" to last-minute requests, patiently waited for work to be completed from my office, and reminded me of important tasks that needed doing, I owe you my thanks.  To everyone who goes about their daily work with enthusiasm and excellence, your efforts are what make my job both doable and rewarding.

Between now and the end of the year I hope to put together a summary of recent accomplishments from across the college.  I haven't taken as much time this semester to acknowledge and celebrate your successes as I would have liked.  If you have news you think I might be unaware of, please let me know so that I can make the summary as inclusive as possible.

I hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable holiday season.  We have plenty of work to look forward to in January.