Berglund Seminar Series
Each semester the Honors College invites faculty and community partners to participate in our Berglund Seminar and Diverse Conversations series. The purpose of the series is to generate meaningful discussions and debates outside of the classroom on topical—and sometimes controversial—subjects.
VCU faculty have presented on a range of subjects from e-cigarettes, to 3D printing museum artifacts, to representation and identity. We have also had community partners discuss topics like affordable housing, the GRTC Pulse and Richmond transit system and helping families of inmates.
Our Diverse Conversations are designed to bring a small group (10-15) of students together to engage in conversation around topics of diversity and inclusion specifically. In contrast, the Berglund Seminars can be on a variety of topics and are open to the public.
Youth Leadership in Public Health
Presented by Olivia Washington
April 22 | 2 p.m.-3 p.m.
Virtual via Zoom (QR code for Zoom link if possible)
The Virginia Department of Health Youth Advisory Council is a departmental initiative to empower youth leadership in public health. The VDH YAC is currently the largest of its kind in Virginia, and has been developed and co-led by two Youth Advisors: Olivia Washington and Alana Harris. Students attending this seminar will hear from Olivia Washington about this unique program and learn about the impact that youth leaders can make in public health.
Future Studies: A Field for Uncertain Times
Presented by Vineeta Singh, Ph.D.
April 21 | 2 p.m.-3 p.m.
Honors College Room 1303
This conversation will introduce students to the basic tenets of future studies, beginning with the cone of future possibilities and glossing over some basic methodological principles of this emergent interdisciplinary field. Students will be asked to reflect on how they think about the future, how institutions like VCU forecast possible and probable futures, and how individuals and institutions can move from planning for probable futures to backcasting for preferable futures.
Attendance is limited to 10 students.