VIDEO – Trigger Warnings: Offense, Freedom, and Respect

Photo of SOPHIA's first online philosophical conversation, on trigger warnings.

Here below is the video of our first online symposium, which we organized on the topic of trigger warnings. Note that the audio in the first 8-10 minutes includes some background noise from participants getting set up. We eventually got those sounds under control and know now how to avoid such problems in future discussion. We hope that you enjoy this video and that you’ll join us in the future. Also, send us ideas about topics that you want to talk about. We are looking to put on regular discussions like this one on a variety of topics. We hope you enjoy:

If you haven’t already, you can “like” our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. You can also JOIN SOPHIA here.

A photo of a symbol that reads "Trigger Warning: Explicit Content," and which is made to look like the "Explicit Content" warnings used on mature media sold to the public in the United States.SOPHIA is holding our first online symposium, a conversational meeting open to all, on the subject of “trigger warnings,” the act of alerting students in advance about potentially offensive messages or images to be covered in an educational setting. Controversy arose in part in reaction to a letter from the Dean of Students at the University of Chicago, which you can find here, and which we ask that each participant in our conversation read prior to joining us (1 page).

Photo of the letter that the University of Chicago sent incoming students about "trigger warnings."Title: Trigger Warnings: Offense, Respect, and Freedom [Online Video Symposium]

Day and time: Wednesday, 10/19/16 from 2:00-3:30 p.m. Eastern.

Place: Online. In advance, click this link to download a small tool that will enable participation. If you have used Zoom online video conferencing before, you may not need to download the little app.

SPECIAL NOTE: This conversational meeting will be recorded and then posted on YouTube. You can participate either with video and audio or you can just watch the discussion and comment in the platform’s chat section. Those unable to participate at the time of the discussion can watch the video later on YouTube.

Photo of Dr. Bertha Manninen.Facilitators:

Dr. Bertha Manninen, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Arizona State University

and

Photo of Dr. Shane Courtland.Dr. Shane Courtland, Managing Director of the Center for Free Enterprise at West Virginia University.

In addition,

Dr. Eric Thomas Weber.Dr. Eric Thomas Weber, Executive Director of SOPHIA, will serve as the moderator of our online forum.

And featuring a special Guest:

We are also very fortunate to have a special guest joining us from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE):

Ari Cohn, J.D., Senior Program Office for Legal and Public Advocacy, F.I.R.E.Ari Cohn, J.D., Senior Program Officer for Legal and Public Advocacy for F.I.R.E.

We welcome and invite comments and questions in advance of the symposium. Please write to us at philosophersinamerica@gmail.com, post a comment on our Facebook page, or Tweet to us @SOPHIAchirp.

Finally, you can also call us and leave us a voicemail with a comment or question, by calling: 859.257.1849. Please introduce yourself, tell us where you’re from, and please limit your message length to 1 minute or less.

Date: October 19, 2016
Time: 02:00-03:30 p.m. Eastern
Event: Trigger Warnings: Offense, Respect, and Freedom [Online Video Symposium]
Topic: Education, Academic Freedom, Respect for Victims of Trauma
Venue: SOPHIA's Zoom Online Video Conferencing platform
Public: Public

Keep up to date on SOPHIA activities and get involved by joining SOPHIA!

“An Economy that Grows Anger,” SOPHIA Member on HuffPo

The Huffington Post
Septemer 24, 2016

Dr. Paul Croce, SOPHIA member and Huffington Post columnist.Dr. Paul Croce of Stetson University has long been a supporter and practitioner of publicly engaged philosophy. Academically, his work has focused especially on William James’s philosophy. It is our pleasure to welcome Paul into membership of SOPHIA and, as we do, to call attention to his latest oped published on the Huffington Post, on “An Economy that Grows Anger.” Check it out.