"Exploring our World" is a cultivation of unique seminars, lectures and workshops presented by the College of Liberal Arts.  The series provides an array of  topics from the perspectives of the humanities and other disciplines.  Each topic is designed to engage the mind and ignite discussion among participants.  The diverse backgrounds of the presenters and participants guarantee insightful dialogue.

Click on the links below to explore the various topics offered.

These events are open to the public.

If you are UCA Faculty or Staff and would like to submit a proposal, please visit our request for proposal page.

WESTERN GAZES UPON CHINA

APRIL 16, 2013 

6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

BREWER HEGEMAN CONFERENCE CENTER

NO COST TO ATTEND

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Based on their concerted research, Clayton Crocket, Jim Deitrick, Guo-ou Zhuang, and Nicholas Brasovan will each deliver a fifteen-minute presentation on the reception of Chinese philosophies and religions by European scholars over the course of modern and post-modern intellectual history.  Beginning chronologically, Dr. Crockett will present on “Leibniz’s Writings on China.” Dr. Deitrick will then follow up with a talk on “‘Oriental Philosophy’ in the Writings of Hegel.”  Dr. Zhuang then shifts the discussion into the twentieth century, with his presentation, “Betrand Russel’s Romance with China.” Finally, Dr. Brasovan will speak on “Whitehead’s Appropriation of ‘Eastern Asiatic’ Religion.”

Topic(s) or discussion point(s): Chinese Philosophies and Religions, Western Receptions of Chinese Culture, Cross-Cultural Dialogue

Benefit(s) of attending: Attendees will benefit by gaining an enriched understanding of cultural diversity and prejudice, past and present.

How can this benefit educators?:This will benefit educators by providing them with a historical overview of the reception of Chinese culture by intellectuals in Europe and America.

Clayton Crockett is Associate Professor and Director of Religious Studies at the University of Central Arkansas. He is the author or co-author of five books, most recently Deleuze Beyond Badiou (Columbia University Press, 2013). His area of specialization includes Continental Philosophy of Religion and Political Theology. He teaches courses at UCA on Modern and Contemporary Western Religious Thought and Theory.

Jim Deitrick holds a PhD in Religion and Social Ethics from the School of Religion at the University of Southern California. He is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion at the University of Central Arkansas, where he has taught since 1998. His teaching and research focus on Western engagements with Asian religious and philosophical traditions and the consequences of such engagements for contemporary religious and philosophical discourse in the United States.

Dr. Guo-ou Zhuang got his BA and MA in English from Nanjing University in China, and his Ph.D in Comparative Literature from the University of Southern California in the United States. He specialized in contemporary literary theory, cultural studies, and modern Chinese fiction. He has published articles on Eugene O’Neill, American Studies, western literary theory, and early modern Chinese fiction. He is currently the director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Central Arkansas.

Nicholas S. Brasovan earned his MA and PhD from the University of Hawai’i.  His areas of specialization include Chinese and comparative philosophy.  He is currently an assistant professor of philosophy and religion at the University of Central Arkansas.  Presently, he serves as the Director of the UCA Humanities and World Cultures Institute and Regional Center for Asian Studies.