Newswise — Doug Henwood, editor and publisher of the Left Business Observer, will give the Scholars' Convocation at the "Globalization and Cultural Capital" symposium at Grinnell College on Thursday, April 8.
The symposium, sponsored by Grinnell College's Center for the Humanities, will run from April 7-9, and will focus on globalization and cultural capital.
Henwood, a contributing editor of "The Nation" and the host of a weekly radio program on WBAI, New York, is also the author of "Wall Street" (Verso; 1997) and "After the New Economy" (New Press; 2003). He will speak on "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Globalization" at 11 a.m., Herrick Chapel, Grinnell College.
"Since the mid-20th century, critics have looked at culture as an industry, and today we see 'cultural' phenomena increasingly as the markers of 'economic' value," said Alan Schrift, director of Grinnell College's Center for the Humanities. "Many of the dominant economic players of our day—the 21st century's heavy industries—are 'imagineering' industries, globalized producers of symbolic value like Disney, Murdoch's Newscorp, time-Warner-AOL, and Microsoft.
"Academics in the humanities and social sciences have a long tradition of analyzing 'culture,' and they have much to say about the current state of globalized economics," he said. "This symposium brings together scholars who will address questions surrounding globalization and cultural capital. What can the 'cultural' work in the humanities and social sciences offer to analyzing the globalized flows of money, media, people, goods, and services."
Other speakers include Drucilla Cornell, professor of law, political science, women's studies, and comparative literature, Rutgers University; Jeffrey Nealon, professor of English, The Pennsylvania State University; and Evan Watkins, professor of English, University of California-Davis.
The speakers for the symposium are:
Wednesday, April 7* Developing Human Capabilities: Freedom, Universality, and Civility, Drucilla Cornell, professor of law, political science, women's studies, and comparative literature, Rutgers University, 4:15 p.m., Forum South Lounge, Grinnell College.
* The University in the Eyes of Its Accountants, Jeffrey Nealon, professor of English, The Pennsylvania State University, 8 p.m., Forum South Lounge, Grinnell College.
Thursday, April 8* Scholars' Convocation: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Globalization, Doug Henwood, editor and publisher, Left Business Observer,11 a.m., Herrick Chapel, Grinnell College.* Saturated with Choices: How Does It Feel to You?, Evan Watkins, professor of English, University of California-Davis, 4:15 p.m., Forum South Lounge, Grinnell College.
Friday, April 9* Roundtable with Doug Henwood, Jeffrey Nealon, Evan Watkins, Shuchi Kapila, Daniel Reynolds, Alan Schrift, and Kathleen Skerrett, 4:15 p.m., Forum South Lounge, Grinnell College.
RSS