Indiana University Press has just published the book Race in American Science Fiction, by Isiah Lavender III, associate professor in UCA’s English department. The book argues that “racial alterity is fundamental to the genre’s [i.e., Science Fiction’s] narrative strategy,” and discusses writers like Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, and Ursula K. Le Guin, as well as Octavia Butler, Charles Saunders, and other African American novelists.
Three faculty members in the Department of Philosphy had their work recently published in the Fall 2010 issue (Vol. 17, #2) of the Journal of the Society for Philosophy in the Contemporary World’s special issue on the “The Future of Liberal Arts Education.” “Philosophy in the Contemporary World is a peer-reviewed journal committed to the application of philosophy in understanding and solving contemporary ethical and conceptual problems.” Peter J. Mehl, professor of philosophy and religion and associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts, was the guest editor for this issue. The issue collects 13 essays on the topic, three of which are authored by members of the Philosophy and Religion department. Besides an editor’s introduction, Mehl wrote an essay titled, “Educating for Life: Liberal Arts and the Human Spirit.” Dr. Jim Shelton, professor of philosophy, wrote an essay titled “The Subversive Nature of Liberal Education.” Dr. Charles Harvey, chair and professor of Philosophy, wrote, “The Conservative Limits of Liberal Education.”