Equity and Diversity for a Just and Humane World: Community, Youth, and Justice

The Seattle University Academic Salons Program, a collaborative intellectual bridge between the university’s academic programs and student development, explores the university mission of “Equity and Diversity for a Just and Humane World.”  This year’s Salons theme will build upon the 2009-2010 theme of “Equity and Diversity for a Just and Humane World: Religion and Social Change” which focused primarily on religion in the global world. 

The 2010-11 Salons will expand upon that broad theme while simultaneously concentrating its gaze locally to examine how religiously based institutions such as Seattle University envision and enact social change in their neighborhoods.  In particular, the Academic Salons will focus upon the salient theme of Community, Youth, and Justice.  Through a variety of mediums including panel discussions, film screenings, guest lectures, poetry readings, musical performances, visual arts and public forums, the Salons program will examine the relationship between Community, Youth, and Justice and explore the following questions:

• How does Seattle University’s embodiment of religion and social change lead to its engagement in the local community?
• How do we define justice? Are equity and justice the same? Who defines justice? How is justice best served?
• What is the relationship between social justice and economic justice?
• How do we define community? Who is included? Who is excluded?  What are the cultural, economic, educational, health, political, religious, and social realities of youth in our neighborhood? How can we best serve and how can we best learn?
• What are our current engagement activities with neighborhood youth and what have we learned from our involvement?
• What are the most promising models and strategies for institutions of higher education to positively influence the lives of low-income youth?
• What are the opportunities and challenges for connecting our engagement in our local communities with our involvement in global communities?

For the 2010-11 Program, Academic Salons will collaborate with the Center for Service and Community Engagement, which has been planning and organizing the Seattle University Youth Initiative (visit www.seattleu.edu/suyi for more information). 

To kick off the 2010-11 Academic Salons program, we will begin with an exploration and discussion of Paul Tough’s Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America. This book follows Canada’s creation of the Harlem Children’s Zone as a way to tackling the problem of urban poverty in America.  As part of the Academic Salons program for 2010-2011, all incoming students will receive a copy of Tough’s book.  This book will form the core of the conversation for the New Student Academic Convocation on Monday, September 20, 2010. 

Sharon A. Suh, PhD
Director, Academic Salons