Fall 2021 Endowed Lecture Series
The Center for Asian Studies is committed to providing opportunities for the University community to engage in Asian and Asian American cultures. We offer a variety of expert-led lectures throughout the semester such as, The Anlin Ku Lecture on Chinese Culture, Carmen R. & Joseph G. Schneidler Lecture on Pan-Asian Culture, Charlie’s TechTalks and more. See our upcoming and past lectures below.
Fall 2021
Lecture: “The Challenge of Translating Scientific and Ethical Concepts Across Cultures”
Wednesday, October 20 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Free virtual event. Register for Dr. Sundar Sarukkai’s lecture. Registration deadline is October 15.
The distinguished philosopher of science Dr. Sundar Sarukkai will make available a lecture addressing “The Challenge of Translating Scientific and Ethical Concepts Across Cultures.” On October 20, he will participate in an invited online discussion about the ideas presented in the lecture. A limited number of places are available to attend an in-person gathering of faculty and students for the discussion with Sarukkai.
Sarukkai trained in physics and philosophy, and has a PhD from Purdue University. He works primarily in the philosophy of the natural and the social sciences. He is the founder of Barefoot Philosophers. He is currently a Visiting Faculty at the Centre for Society and Policy, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
He is the author of Translating the World: Science and Language (2002), Philosophy of Symmetry (2004), Indian Philosophy and Philosophy of Science (2005), What is Science? (2012), and two books co-authored with Gopal Guru – The Cracked Mirror: An Indian Debate on Experience and Theory (2012) and Experience, Caste and the Everyday Social (2019). His book titled JRD Tata and the Ethics of Philanthropy was published in 2020.
He is the Co-Chief Editor of the Springer Handbook of Logical Thought in India and the Series Editor for the Science and Technology Studies Series, Routledge. Sarukkai was a professor of philosophy at the National Institute of Advanced Studies until 2019 and was the Founder-Director of the Manipal Centre for Philosophy and Humanities from 2010-15. His most recent book is Philosophy for Children: Thinking, Reading and Writing and is published in English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Bengali.
Asian Culture Forum: “The Good and the Beautiful in the Analects of Confucius”
Saturday, October 16 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Free virtual event. Register for the Asian Culture Forum. Registration deadline is October 14.
In her first public lecture as a member of the UTD faculty, Dr. Songyao Ren will discuss “The Good and the Beautiful in the Analects of Confucius.” Ren is an assistant professor of philosophy.
A panel discussion featuring UTD professors Dr. Ming Dong Gu and Dr. Lawrence Amato, moderated by Dr. Dennis Kratz, will then discuss the connection of goodness and beauty in Asian and Western thought.
