Diamond: A Champion for the Liberal Arts
“Across the board, I think that is what impressed people the most – his demonstration of on-going intellectual curiosity … It was a good experience for our students.” — Britt Cartrite
There was not an empty seat in Presbyterian Hall when nationally renowned scientist Jared Diamond spoke Oct. 14 in the Remick Heritage Center. An estimated crowd of more than 700 attended the presentation, with students lining the aisles because all the seats were taken.
Diamond, this year’s Robert D. Swanson Responsible Leadership keynote speaker, discussed “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.” In addition to Alma College students, faculty and staff, the talk attracted people from the community as well as students and faculty from nearby schools and universities.
Jared Diamond, speaking with Dr. Lou Sandel
Several Alma faculty, including Britt Cartrite and Dave Clark, encouraged their students to attend both the speech and the open question-and-answer session the following morning. Cartrite, assistant professor of political science, required his First Year Seminar students to attend and encouraged the students in the Political Science Reading Club to read his book. Cartrite also brought two students with him to the pre-speech dinner with Diamond in the Heather Room.
“The Political Science Club students, in particular, found him very interesting and engaging,” said Cartrite. “At dinner, the students were impressed with how modest he was and the fact he went around the room to speak with each of the students.”
Diamond, speaking in the Heritage Center
Clark, professor of biology, required students in the Biology 280 seminar to read Diamond’s book, The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal.
“We used the book as a framework for Diamond’s visit to Alma,” said Clark. “Each week, the students presented on a different chapter of the book. We finished up the day before Diamond’s talk. To have a scientist like Jared Diamond at Alma College was great.”
Diamond, signing books after his speech
Diamond’s career proved to be a great example for the liberal arts, said Cartrite.
“The students in the First Year Seminar found his intellectual curiosity pretty inspiring,” said Cartrite. “Diamond was trained in the very narrow sense but kept his curiosity, which led him to flourish into different areas later in life. The First Year Seminar students noticed that Diamond’s intellectual development didn’t end when he graduated from college.
“Across the board, I think that is what impressed people the most – his demonstration of on-going intellectual curiosity for someone in his 70s. Overall, the students seemed to enjoy meeting him. It was a good experience for our students.”
Posted: Thu, October 22nd, 2009 at 10:27AM
