Nobel Laureate Dr. Peter Agre will keynote Concordia’s February 2 Dialogues on the Quad, Discerning More: Strategies for the Age of Misinformation. Dr. Agre, Director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, will be joined by panelists Dr. Theresa Robinson, a science educator at Elmhurst University who works to make high quality S.T.E.M. accessible to families and students from marginalized communities; Professor Elizabeth Geiling, Chair of Concordia’s Psychology Department and Interim Dean of the School of Humanities; and Concordia students Ava Perez and Noel Vasquez. President Nunes will serve as moderator.
The panel will engage students, staff and faculty on questions of critical relevance: Can intellectual humility, curiosity, honesty and courage make us better at critical thinking and less vulnerable to misinformation and Big Tech’s influence? What is our responsibility to find and measure facts against what reinforces our own world view? What are some challenges and rewards of collaborating across difference for common good? How does faith inform these questions?
In his keynote, Dr. Agre will discuss how his work as a physician and molecular biologist has been guided by a constant need to be self-critical, question assumptions, collaborate with others, and stand ready to be surprised.
At Concordia’s signature Dialogues on the Quad events, guests and campus community members engage students, staff and faculty in civil discourse across difference, offering a space where well-informed opinions on topical, often contentious issues can be heard and respectfully discussed. In past years, the dialogues took place over a single day in Sommer Center. This year, a series of zoom gatherings have allowed for even greater participation. Following the 2020-2021 College theme Meant for More, this year’s events have focused broadly on questions around our rights and responsibilities. October’s Access to Healthcare event addressed racial inequities in healthcare. On March 2, the campus community will explore the intersection of First and Second Amendment rights with Saul Cornell, author and Paul and Diane Guenther Chair in American History at Fordham University. The April 20 event will feature a discussion about arts and culture as tools for civic transformation with Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, Founder and President of Dar al-Kalima University College of Arts and Culture in Bethlehem.