In her presentation, Dr. Chris Hedlin '11, on the right, encouraged business students to move beyond the stereotype that business careers are just “practical.”
Symposium Day brings big ideas to campus
Augustana's fall Symposium Day 2024 invited big ideas from any and all disciplines, welcoming presentations from students, faculty and staff, and distinguished guests — including keynote speaker Dr. Roosevelt Montás from Columbia University and Dr. Chris Hedlin '11 from the University of Notre Dame.
Dr. Jason Mahn, professor of religion, and Lindsay Adolphs, assistant vice president of CORE and community-engaged learning, organized the event. The theme, "Big Ideas," encouraged presenters and attendees to consider how to spark new ways of thinking in industry, science, education and society.
The complete list of session descriptions is available at Fall Symposium Day: Big Ideas.
Is it time to re-think the First Amendment?
Dr. David Schwartz and Allie Rial '26 delved into the complexities of the First Amendment.
During this Symposium Day discussion, Dr. David Schwartz, associate professor of communication studies and multimedia journalism, and Allie Rial '26 delved into the complexities of the First Amendment.
While the First Amendment guarantees the freedoms of speech, religion and the press, the session explored whether this 237-year-old statement still holds up in a world that has drastically changed since its creation.
They highlighted many reasons why people are now questioning if it's time to reconsider or expand the reach of the First Amendment, including the growth of modern technology; cultural and demographic changes; the influence of corporations; and the lack of awareness many Americans have about this essential part of the Constitution.
Rial, managing editor of the Augustana Observer, believes that it is crucial for students to gain a fresh perspective on the First Amendment and understand its relevance in today's society.
"It's important for students to learn how these changes in society can impact their own lives and future careers," she said.
Dr. Schwartz said many notable individuals, including Oliver Wendell Holmes, who shaped early 20th-century legal interpretations of free speech, never had to consider social media platforms like Instagram or TikTok.
"If there's one thing we can agree on, it's that the world has changed, but the First Amendment hasn't changed with it," he said.
This session left attendees to consider how the First Amendment may need to adapt to meet the challenges of today's society while still upholding fundamental freedoms.
'Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation'
Dr. Roosevelt Montás wove together the importance of a liberal education, individual freedom and self-transformation in his keynote session titled “Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation.”
“You should walk away from college a slightly — perhaps a profoundly — different person than the person that went into college,” said Dr. Montás.
Dr. Montás is senior lecturer in American Studies and English at Columbia University and former director of Columbia's Center for the Core Curriculum. He shared his story of emigrating from the Dominican Republic just before turning age 12 and knowing very little English.
His family experienced the struggles and degradation of poverty. He discovered books discarded by neighbors, one book by Shakespeare he was unable to read and a book of Plato on Socrates that he could. He said the knowledge he found was like “an open window to form a new life.”
He received support from educators who helped him carve his path to attending Columbia University, where he earned his undergraduate and master's degrees, as well as a Ph.D. in English and comparative literature.
Dr. Montás said a liberal education should challenge individuals at the deepest level to examine who they are. Anything less is a waste of time.
“There is something about your humanity that is honored and recognized and nourished by a liberal education that is quite apart from the work function that you are going to fulfill in your life,” Dr. Montás said. “You are going to generate income; you can contribute to the economy and contribute to the collective. […] You're not just a cog in the machine.”
He added, “There is a dimension of your experience, of your value, of your worth […] that has nothing to do with what you produce, that has a value in its own that is noble and that is connected to your freedom. And it is connected to the fact that you are an individual that is the repository to dignity of immeasurable worth.”
River Readings: Tabish Khair
Writer Tabish Khair, an associate professor at Aarhus University in Denmark and 2024 Iowa Writers' Workshop resident
Symposium Day and the River Readings welcomed writer Tabish Khair, an associate professor at Aarhus University in Denmark and 2024 Iowa Writers' Workshop resident, who read from his selected poems and stories.
Raised and educated in a small town in India, Khair was expected to become a doctor like the generations of men in his family before him, but instead found inspiration in writing and literature at an early age. He was a young journalist in Delhi when he got the offer to work in Denmark.
Khair shared excerpts from "Namaste Trump," a short story from his collection of the same name. Set in India, the piece follows a fictional family's experience in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, amid the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Namaste Trump" rallies in February 2020.
As an Indian author writing in English and living in Denmark, Khair occasionally felt at a disadvantage to writers living in the United States or England. To stand out, he began exploring a variety of styles and genres in his writing, from science fiction to gothic literature. Adopting these styles, he said, allows him to capture emotional truths about his subjects and more freely express ideas.
Khair also draws inspiration from the writers he loves. He began his reading with "Rumi and the Reed," a poem inspired by the 13th-century Persian poet, and later shared three poems inspired by Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen: "Immigrant" (based on "The Little Mermaid"), "Covered in Ice" (based on "The Snow Queen") and "Tinker" (based on "The Tin Soldier"), each addressing the darker themes of Andersen's stories.
"Even though I write in English, there are other languages behind me," Khair said.
He noted that though there are benefits to writing about oneself, especially for those who can relate to such stories (such as, in his case, fellow immigrants), ultimately "the only way to find yourself is through the other."
"If you only write about yourself, you'll hit a barrier," he said. "You have to force yourself to go beyond."
'Why business?' Dinner and dialogue with a distinguished alum
At Notre Dame, Dr. Chris Hedlin '11 teaches in and helps direct the Sheedy Family Program in Economy, Enterprise, and Society. The program brings together students of business and the liberal arts to explore big questions about work. Can a job be meaningful? Can a capitalist society be just?
Dr. Hedlin's role is to design courses and programs where students can figure out not only what they want to do with their lives but why.
At her dinner/dialogue symposium event, Dr. Hedlin led students, faculty and mentors in a discussion about stereotypes: studying business is the “practical” choice in terms of getting a job, whereas humanities majors are passion-driven, less concerned about employment and less likely to get a job.
It does not have to be one or the other, she argued. In fact, Dr. Hedlin warns her business students at Notre Dame that if they don't feel passionate about their work, they are headed for burnout and a mid-life crisis.
“Business and the liberal arts are both practical and something you can feel passionate about,” Dr. Hedlin said.
Dr. Hedlin's work at Notre Dame aligns perfectly with Augustana's Business Education Steeped in the Liberal Arts (BESLA), the new scholars program for business administration majors launching next fall.
Business majors enrolled in BESLA will be encouraged to:
- Pursue a second major or minor from the traditional liberal arts disciplines, such as English, religion, political science, art or music
- Devote a portion of their general education requirement to courses tailored to the intersection of career, calling, happiness, industry and living good lives
- Participate in co-curricular activities with mentors from local business and nonprofit organizations
Dr. Hedlin noted that Aristotle, considered the father of liberal arts, believed that education should develop critical thinking skills. As an English and Spanish major at Augustana, she took classes in music, history, psychology, religion, geology, geography and more. She didn't understand what “liberal arts” meant when she arrived at Augustana in 2007, but she did four years later.
Dr. Hedlin encouraged the business students in the audience to discover what they care about and move beyond the stereotype that business careers are just “practical.” Finding meaning, passion and purpose is essential to success and fulfillment.
And that's a wrap!
Winners of the 2024 Augie Student Film Awards are all smiles following the annual Symposium Day showcase of their winning short films created in film classes during the 2023-24 academic year. From the left, Jordyn Van Santen, Laura Makari, Emma Watts, Natalie Hansen, Paige Withey, Aron Stewart, Rylon Hall, John Reda, Deayden Jackson, Ludovica Chiovini and Matthew Chezum.
The Augie Student Film Awards Show included a screening of 13 short films in multiple genres. “Love Bites” by Ludovica Chiovini took home the Audience Choice Award at Symposium Day. It was also announced that the film “Clean Up,” which was screened in May at Davenport’s The Last Picture House, earned an Audience Choice Award. The four filmmakers of "Clean Up" are Laura Makari, John Reda, Jordyn Van Santen and Corey Whitlock.