For Full Details: https://workandleisure.org/#2018conf

Thursday April 5th

Open to the Public — No Registration Necessary

• 2:00-2:45pm       –    Peter Marber, Finance/Global Affairs, NYU, Johns Hopkins

• 2:45pm-3:30pm –    Russell Muirhead, Government, Dartmouth

• 3:30-3:45pm        –   Break

• 3:45pm-4:30pm  –   David Roochnik, Philosophy, BU

• 4:30pm-5:30pm  –   Panel Discussion, with above speakers, Mary Crane (English/ILA), & Provost David Quigley

A liberal arts education has always had the ability to transform a student, and thus to transform how they choose to organize their time in adult life: both the time they spend at work and the time they spend at leisure. Yet the factors influencing what sorts of work and what sorts of leisure are available are in a state of increasing flux.  From AI-driven automation, to globalization, to infinite entertainment delivered instantly to the palm of your hand, the general conditions of work and leisure are undergoing a radical transformation.

In this shifting landscape, what role do the liberal arts have to play?  In addition to a liberal education being valuable for its own sake, how can it prepare students for an economy in which whole sectors of work may rapidly shrink or disappear, e.g., through off-shoring or automation?  And how can it help students develop the habit of spending their free time well, in the face of endless possibilities for distraction?  This conference will seek answers to these questions.