All members of the GVSU and Western Michigan community are cordially invited to participate in the Back to Basics Series at Grand Valley State University!
Recent months have been particularly volatile ones in our culture and politics. This volatility has brought to the fore deep disagreements and antagonisms and presents us even now with a great deal of uncertainty. While divisions and uncertainty provide grounds for pessimism and worry, they also provide an added motivation for us to inform ourselves about subjects such as history, politics, and psychology, and to reflect more carefully about effective ways to think critically and to identify credible, trustworthy sources of information. The study of history, of politics, of ourselves, and of the activity of figuring things out based on facts, knowledge, argument, and reasoned interpretation are all central parts of the liberal arts and sciences. The present moment is thus an ideal time to call on what the liberal arts and sciences have to offer us in terms of meaningful and well-verified information, in terms of guidance for confronting uncertainty and thinking critically and effectively, and as a kind of common ground or starting point from which to begin serious conversation and meaningful engagement concerning divisive issues. These are the main goals of the Back to Basics series, and everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend and to be part of the conversation.
