Intercom is published regularly and serves to inform Vanier staff and teachers of notices and special events. It is posted on the Vanier College Website and distributed electronically. Submissions should be sent to intercom@vaniercollege.qc.ca. Submissions should be in WORD, and sent as an attachment. No formatting or bullets. Deadline: 4:00 p.m. on the Wednesday preceding publication.

Invitation to the Unveiling of New Gender Neutral Washrooms on Campus

The Vanier Community is invited to attend the unveiling of new Gender Neutral Washrooms - facilities that anyone can use – on February 3, at 12 Noon in the Sports Complex. In all, a total of 15 Gender Neutral Washrooms are available in all Vanier buildings and more will be added in the future. These renovations are also important because they will meet other user medical needs and provide greater access and ease of movement to members of the Vanier community with reduced mobility.

Marguerite Corriveau, Vanier Communications

Exploring “Doubt” during the 2016 Vanier College Humanities Symposium

Don’t forget the 2016 Vanier College Humanities Symposium that kicks off today and runs all this week until Friday afternoon. This year the central theme of “Doubt” will be examined from a variety of perspectives: through philosophy, math, science, religion, the arts, language, and media. One of the highlights of the week on Thursday, Feb. 4th (4 pm to 5:30), will feature internationally renowned British philosopher Simon Critchley and this year's keynote event: "A

Conversation about Doubt". Simon Critchley (New School for Social Research, NYC) will speak with Lili Petrovic from the Humanities

Department, pondering what, if anything, can be said, with any degree of certainty, about the nature of our doubting. Another highlight will be special guest speaker, CBC radio and TV host and science journalist, Bob McDonald, who will explore how doubt is an important tool in science. (Feb. 2, 11:30 am to 1 pm.) The Special Humanities Lecture on February 3rd at 1:30 pm, entitled “Big Doubt”, will feature Andrew Lawless, retired Vanier Professor of Humanities, Philosophy and Liberal Arts. This lecture is about what we can learn from annoying philosophical questions such as does the world exist and can we know anything about it. Some topics other talks will examine are doubt in science and mathematics; the potential for new creativity in “threatened" languages such as Mikmaq and Yiddish; doubt and freedom, assuming responsibility for one’s actions in difficult times; the human passion for certainty; doubt and delusions, resistance or collaboration among religious groups under communist rule in Romania, and the effect of deception through suggestion. See the full program at the end of Intercom for all details, times and descriptions.

Marguerite Corriveau, Vanier Communications

Container Shipment to Malawi - January 23, 2016

Amongst the commotion and highly successful Open-House activities last Saturday, there was another flurry of activity taking place behind the K building. Thirty volunteers gathered to load a 20 foot container destined for Malawi, Africa. This was a collaborative project involving the Malawi Nursing Exchange and several Montreal area non-profit

Volume M16, Issue No. 3, February 1, 2016

Container of donations for Malawi

groups including Makupo Development Organization which was founded by Doug Miller, a retired Vanier teacher.

Donations for the container included computers, science equipment and children's books for a new library. A large portion of the container was dedicated to medical equipment, supplies and hospital furniture donated by the Shriners' Hospital, Medicom and Medylis. The Malawi Nursing Exchange received a generous donation of $10,600 from the Tenaquip

Foundation which was used to purchase much needed medical equipment for a small clinic across the road from Makupo Village, where the Vanier nursing students are housed during their annual exchange. "My hope is that this will become our 'field station' abroad where students can learn about the health challenges that people experience living in rural Malawi." said Melodie Hicks, coordinator of the exchange program. The container will take 3 months to arrive at its final destination in Malawi. Vanier nursing students will be in the country until the end of April and hope to be able to assist with the unpacking of the contents and setting up of the clinic. Many thanks go to all those who contributed to the success of this project and there were many. Joanie Robert, the Security team, Receiving, Respiratory and Anesthesia Technology, Nursing, Industrial Electronics, Shriners' Hospital, Tenaquip Foundation, Medylis, Medicom, Therese Foundation, K2Foundation, MIC sisters, Laurie Dotto, Kathy Assayag, Vanier alumni, retired teachers, current teachers and students. A wonderful example of a community coming together for a common cause.

Melodie Hicks, Nursing Department

Referral Form: Early Alert Support

There is a system in place for teachers to refer students to support services. The Early Alert Support referral form should be completed and submitted as soon as it becomes noticeable that a student is likely to fail your course and requires support beyond help understanding course content. Note that it is no longer mandatory for you to obtain consent from your students before referring them. You will receive confirmation that the referral has been received and the student has been contacted. The student will then meet with a member of the Student Success Advisory Committee, who will refer the student to relevant resources and follow-up to ensure the student is making use of them.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me should you want further information about this initiative: extension 7568 or cloughc@vaniercollege.qc.ca. Referral form: Early Alert Support: http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/student-success/referral-form/. A link can also be found on http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/teachers.

Cari Clough, The Learning Centre

Comedy for a Cause Benefitting the Vanier Malawi Nursing Exchange

Featuring: Multi-talented, Helen Hong, Recently made The Huffington Post's list of Favorite Female

Comedians!

Friday, February 12th, 7:30pm The Comedy Nest

2313 Ste-Catherine West, Montreal Forum, 3rd Floor

Pre-sale Tickets $15 Available in F217 or reserve hicksm@vaniercollege.qc.ca

Melodie Hicks, Nursing Department

News from VTV

VTV in collaboration with Vanier’s Student Services Department recently recorded several video profiles of students who are active in the S.T.A.R. program. To see the videos that were released this week please click on the following links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9zp7NiqcpE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ-whhh_KWk More videos will follow in the coming days. Please feel free to share these videos with your students so that they can learn how to participate in the program and receive non-credit entries on their transcripts for a minimum of 60 hours of volunteering in a school or community project. Application forms are available in Student Services, Room C-203. For more details or further information please contact Student Services at 514-744-7885 or drop by in Room C-203.

Darren Becker, Communications, Corporate Affairs

Mathematics and Science Centre

University Panel: Find out what University is like from Vanier Alumni

On Friday, February 5th at 1pm in B-429, we will be inviting several Vanier graduate students now studying at McGill or Concordia to share their insights about University, the challenges they faced, what students should expect, and what their experiences have been. All students are welcomed. Students are advised to sign up online in advance: http://bit.ly/hVuZ4y Early February UB Review Sessions During most universal breaks, we will be hosting review sessions for various topics. These reviews are open to all students. Here’s what we have coming up within the next few weeks: - Calculus 2 on Feb. 3rd in D508 by Prof. Ellen Cooper - Calculus 1 on Feb. 17th in D508 by Prof. Ellen Cooper - Waves and Mechanics on Feb. 17th in D506 by Prof. Rhys Adams Students wishing to attend should sign up online: http://bit.ly/hVuZ4y Pre-Med Information Workshop The winter semester pre-med information workshop for students will take place on Friday, February 12th from 3pm to 5:30pm (room to be determined). Vanier alumni currently studying in Pre-Med / Pre-Dent will be present to answer student questions concerning the application process and to help with application documents. Graduating students are welcomed to sign up at: http://bit.ly/hVuZ4y Thank you for passing on the information to your students.

Haritos Kavallos, Math & Science Centre

Free English Language Peer Tutoring for students

Dear Colleagues, I am currently looking for students who want to and/or need to improve their English language and writing skills. Please encourage the students in your classes who are experiencing difficulties with English to apply for free peer tutoring by THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11th. Application forms are available in an envelope posted outside my office door (N-554) and at my Faculty Dean’s office (B-208). Applicants will be selected according to their availability and will be paired with a peer tutor, a student taking my Peer Teaching course, who will help them throughout this winter semester. They will receive free peer tutoring (two hours per week) starting on the fifth week of classes (the week of February 22nd).

If you require additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me at ext.7271 or to send me an email at photopos@vaniercollege.qc.ca Thank you.

Spiridoula Photopoulos, English Department

French Writing Clinics

Winter, 2016

Tuesday and Thursday from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

in room K 307

Does sending a letter, a memo or an e-mail in French makes you a little nervous? Well, you don’t have to worry anymore! That’s right. You can now use the services of a professional French teacher to help make your French writing a perfect piece of art! Come to our French Writing Clinics, where a Vanier French teacher will help you write the professional business correspondences you have been dreaming of! These clinics will be held every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in room K 307. For more information, please contact: Isabelle Rivest, French Department, K 307, at extension 7853.

Isabelle Rivest, département de français.

Capsule linguistique

Bonjour à tous! Les capsules linguistiques sont de retour pour la session d'hiver 2016! Chaque semaine, une capsule linguistique vous proposera une phrase contenant une erreur. Vous devrez la déceler et la corriger. La semaine suivante, vous obtiendrez la solution, ainsi qu'une courte explication grammaticale. Voici la phrase à corriger cette semaine: "Patrick a parcouru deux milles milles à bicyclette, soit une distance de trois mille deux cents kilomètres." Vous devez trouver et corriger la faute contenue dans cette phrase. La semaine prochaine, vous obtiendrez la réponse ainsi qu’une brève explication. Bonne chance!

Isabelle Rivest, département de français.

While on vacation, Vanier staff and alumni share their skills.

While on vacation in Belize, Stephanie Laett of the Animal Health Department, Evelynne Barten of the Environmental and Wildlife Management Department and Sophie Archambault, an Animal Health graduate of 2012, offered up their skills with the volunteer organization La Fondation d’Aide Vétérinaire Internationale (FAVI). The organization offered a three-day spay and neuter clinic in the small remote town of Sarteneja in Belize. FAVI’s mission is to provide veterinary access to underprivileged populations where the ecosystem is being challenged by overpopulation of domestic animals, to educate and sensitize the people to basic animal care and control domestic animal overpopulation long term by holding spay and neuter clinics on a regular basis.

These happy travellers also had the opportunity to visit with wildlife rehabilitation centers Wildtracks Conservation, Education and Research facilities, specializing in the rehabilitation of endangered West Indian manatees and Yucatan black howler and Geoffroy's spider monkeys, Belize Bird Rescue, specializing in Amazon parrots, the Belize Iguana Project and meet with the veterinarians and students at the Belize Wildlife and Referral Clinic.

There was even time to visit the Lamanai Mayan ruins and snorkel Belize Barrier Reef.

Evelynne Barten, Environmental and Wildlife Management

Teaching Tip: Technology is not enough

At Vanier College’s 2016 PED Day, Chris Whittaker, a Physics teacher and researcher from Dawson College, spoke about how Technology Is Not Enough for successful learning to happen in our college courses. What Chris Whittaker supports is that: Technology, Pedagogy, Design and Research is Essential for students, teachers, and educational institutions to succeed. For people who attended PED Day, and for those who were not present, Chris Whittaker’s presentation is now available for viewing by clicking here. Web Links to Phet Simulations Chris Whittaker’s talk included several Phet simulations and videos. The links appear below. Phet simulations: These simulations are for all the sciences, as well as mathematics.

http://phet.colorado.edu (home page for all simulations)

http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/travoltage (page for the "John Travoltage" simulation)

Slinky Video – shown in slow motion Chris Whittaker captured our attention with a specific video, which showed an extended slinky being released. The slow motion of the video confirms that when the top of the extended slinky is released, the bottom does not move until the just before the top reaches close to the bottom of the slinky. The links to this particular video and other Veritassium videos appear below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiyMuHuCFo4 (page for the Awesome HD Slinky Slow-Mo video shown by Chris Whittaker)

http://veritasium.com (the website with many videos and resources)

For further pedagogical ideas about technology, pedagogy, and design support, please contact Wilma Brown and view other Teaching Tips online on the PDO web page.

Wilma Brown, Pedagogical Development Office (PDO)

Image courtesy of Chris Whittaker, Dawson College, and Wilma Brown, Vanier College PDO

Looking for a Pre-school Program?

Early Childhood Education Laboratory Nursery

An integral part of the Early Childhood Education Depart-ment, the Lab Nursery is an on-site quality child care centre which offers a morning program for children ages 3 to 5. A team of educators, comprised of a faculty member and a technician,

model best teaching practices.

The adjoining observation room is equipped with a one-way glass, cameras and microphones. Accompanied by a teacher, small groups of students watch children in active play. In selected courses, students work directly with the children from the Lab. Location: Room N-171, N Building, Vanier College

Registering now for September 2016

Open to the public. Let interested family and friends know. Call us to arrange a visit: 514 744-7500 ext. 7705

Judy Stone, Early Childhood Education

The Learning Centre Services The Learning Centre (TLC) offers an array of resources and services for both students and faculty in order to promote student academic success. We are located on the second floor of the B-building (B205). SERVICES FOR STUDENTS Drop-in Assistance: Students may receive assistance from trained TLC English peer tutors regarding reading, writing, speaking, time management & study skills during our drop-in hours

February 1 – 29/16 – Drop-in hours MONDAYS 10:00AM – 4:00 PM TUESDAYS 10:00AM –4:00 PM WEDNESDAYS 10:00AM – 4:00 PM THURSDAYS 10:00AM – 4:00 PM FRIDAYS 10:00AM – 1:00PM

March 1 – May 13/16 – Drop-in hours MONDAYS 10:00AM – 6:00 PM TUESDAYS 10:00AM –6:00 PM WEDNESDAYS 10:00AM – 6:00 PM THURSDAYS 10:00AM – 6:00 PM FRIDAYS 10:00AM – 1:00PM

During high volume periods, students can expect to see a peer tutor for a maximum of 15 minutes only. Students should bring the following:

instructions for the assignment

a draft of their paper

a specific question or a problem they would like to address with the peer tutor

Please note that the TLC drop-in tutoring is not a correction service; consequently, the peer tutors will not proofread or edit papers. Matched tutoring Trained English peer tutors are also available for students whose English is not their first language. A student can be matched with an English peer tutor to receive weekly help with their language and study skills. Encourage students who would like to improve their English skills to apply online at: www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/tlc/tutoring. SERVICES FOR TEACHERS In Class Workshops: We have developed workshops on a variety of topics. The workshops can be as brief as 15 minutes, or take as long as an hour. It is possible to custom-tailor elements of any workshop to better suit your specific class or assignment(s). It is also possible to combine workshops or elements from several workshops. Please note that these workshops are also available for Continuing Education classes. Teachers can book their workshop at: http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/tlc/book-a-workshop

Avoiding Plagiarism / Referencing: This focuses on the definition and consequences of plagiarism. Students are taught the skills needed to

avoid plagiarism, such as how to paraphrase, quote and properly reference their sources. It is available for APA and for MLA documentation.

Time Management and Avoiding Procrastination: This workshops looks at what procrastination is and some methods of addressing the

problem. It also looks at time management and some tools that can be used for managing one’s time and to help with procrastination.

Study Skills: This workshop discusses some of the ways that the brain learns and stores information. The workshop demonstrates how short term and long term memory works and presents students with different studying techniques using interactive activities.

Oral Presentations: This workshop discusses how to prepare and give an oral presentation. It can also include information on creating a

PowerPoint presentation.

Note-Taking: This workshop discusses different methods for taking notes in class and while reading, including concept maps and the Cornell Method. Active Reading: This workshop introduces students to the concept of active reading, which includes reading with purpose and how to use the SQ3R method.

Essay Writing: This shows students a step-by-step approach to writing a college-level essay. It can include discussion and exercises on creating

topics, writing effective thesis statements, proper paragraph structure, essay-outlining and essay structure. It can focus on different essay

types or different elements in the academic essay.

Essay Analysis: This workshop focuses on what it means to analyze evidence for the academic essay and how to incorporate analysis into the

essay properly.

Literary Analysis: These workshops help introduce students to the concept of literary analysis. Students learn about several literary

techniques and how to analyze them to understand a piece of literature.

Writing Better Sentences: This workshop offers students straightforward and easy-to-apply strategies for correcting common sentence problems such as fragments, run-ons, and comma splices. Students will learn key punctuation and grammar usage rules by revisiting the basics of sentence structure. Please pass on this information to your students. Feel free to visit Joanne Ellis (Coordinator), Kim Muncey, Josh Berman, Cari Clough, and Pam Espinosa and in B205.

Joanne Ellis, The Learning Centre

11h30-13h00 IAN GOLD, PhD (MCGILL UNIVERSITY)Strange Beliefs

People believe all sorts of strange things. The strangest beliefs of all, no doubt, are those known as delusions — the most dramatic symptom of what used to be called madness and is now called psychosis. Although people with psychotic illness are often thought to have bizarre beliefs about all sorts of things, delusional ideas are ac-tually narrowly focused on a small number of themes. In this talk, I will explore what we can learn about de-lusions by paying attention to those themes; what they tell us about the cognitive and brain basis of delu-sions and about how delusions are altered by culture; and what delusions might reveal about normal belief.

KEY NOTE EVENT: A Conversation about Doubt

16h00-17h30 SIMON CRITCHLEY, PhD (British philosopher and author of numerous

books in the Humanities, the History of Philosophy, Political Theory, Ethics, Aesthetics, Literature, and Theatre

This year’s keynote event - “A Conversa-tion about Doubt” - promises a candid discussion on one of humanity’s most persistent and stubborn states of mind: doubt. Internationally-renowned phi-losopher Simon Critchley (New School for Social Research, NYC) speaks with professor Lili Petrovic from the Vanier

College Humanities Department, pondering and per-plexing over what, if anything, can be said, with any degree of certainty, about the nature of our doubting.

FRIDAY, FEB 5

10h00-11h30 LUCIAN TURCESCU, PhD (CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY)Resistance or Collaboration of Churches under Communism in Romania?

This presentation deals with whether or not Romania’s Christian churches and other religious groups resisted or collaborated with the communist authorities during the period 1945-1989, when the country was under commu-nist rule. It will begin from a more general perspective about dealing with the past, providing explanations and il-lustrations from around the world about why it is important for countries to consider their sometimes painful past and how they do it (e.g. South Africa’s and Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commissions); then, consider how Eastern European countries have coped with their painful past af-ter transitioning from communism to western-style liberal

democracies; and finally use religious groups in Roma-nia as a case study for resistance and collaboration, the instrumentalization of resistance and collaboration, is-sues of retribution, and social reconciliation after 1989.

12h00-13h30 MARIKA HADZIPETROS(VANIER COLLEGE)Lying with Facts: Deception by Suggestion

Usually when we think about deception, we think about people knowingly saying things that aren’t true. But this paper will examine a specific kind of deception: to “lie with facts” is to attempt to make us believe something false without saying anything untrue, like for example, saying there is “natural grapefruit extract” in a face wash that is mostly just alcohol. Being deceived about face wash is insignificant, but when we are lied to with facts about our health, about which political candidate best reflects our values and priorities, about global issues like climate change, poverty, and terrorism, being able to spot and avoid this type of deception is of critical importance.

All presentations take place in the Vanier Auditorium (A-103)

For more information, please contact Lili Petrovic at: petrovil@vaniercollege.qc.ca

With special thanks to the FSGS and the Vanier Foundation for its support and contribution to this

Symposium.

DOUBT Humanities Symposium 2016Monday, February 1- Friday, February 5, 2016All presentations take place in the Vanier Auditorium (A-103)

All of our events are free of charge and open to all members of the Vanier community as well as to the public. Teachers wishing to bring their classes to an event should contact Lili Petrovic, the event organizer at petrovil@vaniercollege.qc.ca

Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd. – Voltaire.

Doubt is often uncomfortable, perhaps even painful. We would all like to be certain of our beliefs. With-in the Humanities, however, it has long been recog-nized that doubt and knowledge are not opposites – Socrates was the wisest man in Athens precisely because he was able to question his beliefs. Modern philosophy begins with Descartes and his method of doubt. Deeper understanding and knowledge – as op-posed to the hollow certainty referred to by Voltaire in the above quotation -- is the result of being able to subject ideas to critical analysis, that is, at least in the first instance, to doubt. Again, this can be pro-foundly disconcerting. Consider the following ques-tions: Was the executed criminal actually guilty? Is it right to kill someone for crimes we think they have committed? Are you sure your partner is not cheat-ing on you? Does God exist? Do we know anything at all? In each case, however we respond to these ques-tions, doubt may be unwelcome. But if we are to movebeyond mere belief to deeper understanding, we must employ doubt as a fundamental philosophical tool.

This year’s Humanities Symposium will look at the problem of doubt from a variety of perspectives: through philosophy, math, science, religion, the arts, language, and media, we will hopefully understand something more about that which we do not really know.

MONDAY, FEB 1

8h30-10h00 TIMOTHY BUDDE, PhD (VANIER COLLEGE)Does Science Encourage Philosophy to Embrace Doubt?

Science is often held up as the archetype of certain-ty with regards to our knowledge of the world and the manifest image of the world is slowly being replaced by a scientific image that is increasingly at odds with our everyday experience.This presentation does not in-tend to dispute this perspective (one which has been extremely productive), but rather to look at some as-

pects of science that are less than certain and that should nevertheless be embraced. It will concentrate on a com-parison of the use and explanatory power of stemmatics (the building of family trees) in philosophy, philology and evolutionary biology to encourage philosophers to em-brace a type of doubt already recognized by biologists.

11h30-13h00 M.E. LUKA, PhD (Banting Postdoctoral Fellow, York University)Overcoming Doubt: Creativity, Citizenship and You

We have all heard it: I doubt you can do that. I doubt that will work. I doubt the whole idea. How can creative citizenship help make us smart about our relationship to doubt in the production of media and culture? One an-swer is by sharing, which includes sharing our doubts. This talk takes an optimistic view of doubt, harnessing its energy instead of falling prey to its pitfalls and perils. It explores how working in media and culture and networked civic and creative collaborations can activate policy and address sustainable roles for creative workers today.

13h00-14h30 REBECCA MARGOLIS, PhD (OTTAWA UNIVERSITY)Vos far a fak is dos: Can a Dying Language Live?

If a language is “threatened,” can new things happen in it? This talk looks at the ways in which “threatened” languages in Canada are spoken and used and their po-tential for new creativity. It looks at two cases: the Ab-original language of Mikmaq, and Yiddish, a language of Eastern European Jewish immigration to Canada.

16h00-17h30 STEPHEN NEWBIGGING (VANIER COLLEGE)Beyond Reasonable Doubt…

Of all systems of knowledge, mathematics is often per-ceived as the one that offers the best claim to absolute truth. But how much do we really know? Are there limits to mathematical knowledge? Worse, can we really say that we know anything, even in math? Starting with the ancient Greeks, this presentation will explore the reasons why math-ematics came to be perceived as a bedrock of unquestion-able truth, and will then follow the development of cracks in its foundation through the ideas of Riemann and Gödel.

TUESDAY, FEB 28h30-11h30 DOMENIC RUSO, PhDFilm viewing: “Doubt” Meryl Streep, Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Christian Theological Reflections on Doubt, Faith and Trust

Terms like ‘proof’ and ‘certainty’ reveal our deepest long-ing for a stable world which minimizes fears related to the unexpected. Yet, in contrast there also remains an aspect of the human experience that is drawn to themes of mystery and faith which suggest metaphysical pos-sibilities. In such a world numerous academic disci-

plines continue to propose new possibilities that create room for a fresh and much needed dialogue on themes like faith and doubt. This paper will also provide some theological insight into ideas about faith, mistrust and doubt by making reference to a 2008 film called Doubt. Based on the 1995 Pulitzer prize winning stage play by John Patrick Shanley, this movie provides a contextual backdrop for many contemporary questions related to doubt, faith and our larger systems of church leadership.

SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER

11h30-13h00 BOB MCDONALD (Canadian author and science journalist,

CBC radio host and television commentator)What if Everything We Know Is Wrong?

The way we see the world with our five senses is wrong; the ground seems solid and unmoving, the horizon is flat, the sky looks like a dome and it ap-pears that we are at the centre of the universe. Science has shown us the true perspective—that we live on a ball orbiting a star in an ever-expanding uni-

verse. But sometimes science makes mistakes too. This presentation will explore how doubt is an important tool in science to make sure we eventually get things right.

15h30-17h00 SUSAN HOFFMANN, PhD (MCGILL UNIVERSITY)Kierkegaard and the Rehabilitation of Doubt

Philosophers are often criticized for their emphasis on questioning and doubting everything, leaving us with no firm and final answers about the important ques-tions they raise. Their audience sometimes concludes that it is all a matter of opinion, and that anything goes in philosophy. Søren Kierkegaard, a nineteenth cen-tury Danish existentialist philosopher, was discouraged by such skepticism in philosophy, and such skepticism about philosophy, and wrote a searing critique concern-ing the overemphasis on doubting in philosophical thinking. In this talk, I will examine Kierkegaard’s ac-count of doubt and will suggest that doubting is a posi-tive and productive act that brings us the freedom from anxiety and the peace of mind in our life decisions.

WEDNESDAY, FEB 3

10h30-12h00 JEFF SIMS, PhD (VANIER COLLEGE)The Fly in the Fly-Bottle Doubt is by nature a negative process to which we often ascribe negative values and emotions. Yet, our capacity to doubt is an essential element of human freedom and

creative thinking: it is a liberation from imposed prejudice. Doubt, therefore, occupies something of an ironic place in our consciousness of the world. Specifically, it is because our “environments” and “horizons” are open to interpreta-tion -- ad infinitum -- that they become objects of mani-fest doubt, as well as vistas of renewed human freedom.

SPECIAL HUMANITIES LECTURE

13h30-15h00 ANDREW LAWLESS, PhD (University of Toronto)

Big Doubt

This lecture is about those annoying questions philoso-phy teachers often torture students with: Does the world exist? Can we know anything about it? They seem ab-surdly exaggerated and sensible people — i.e. anyone but philosophers — can be forgiven if they are impatient with them. I will, however, argue that there is a point to them; that taking them seriously can bring certain issues about our grasp of reality into sharper focus and show us that that we don’t always know what we think we know.

16h00-17h30 EMILIA ANGELOVA, PhD (CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY)Ethical Solipsism and Risk in Hegel’s Antigone

In 1807, Hegel appropriates the figure of Antigone, daugh-ter of Oedipus, from the Greek tragedy of Sophocles, to demonstrate that the political space of the state in which human beings lead a common life is open to both moral and ethical demands determining the subject of action. I will consider the ethics of Antigone as one instance of how the Hegelian individual opposes the tyrannical legal order of the ruler (in this case opposing Creon), and will arrive at conclusions which we can draw today, on as-suming responsibility for one’s actions in difficult times.

THURSDAY, FEB 4

8h30-10h00 DAVID KOLOSZYC, PhD (VANIER COLLEGE, MCGILL UNIVERSITY)The Cruelty of Reason: Doubt and Certainty in the Age of Progress

Reason is a cruel companion to our dreams of the good life, forcing upon us questions we can neither ignore nor answer once and for all. Perhaps this is why the perpetual improvement of the standard of living, which we all-too-easily identify with progress, has so much to do with the elimination of doubt. The aim of this presentation will be to consider the human passion for certainty, along with the peculiar and often misleading modern belief that knowledge and certainty are one and the same thing.

CANCELLED