Hamilton Cravens, professor of history and the 2007 Center for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities (CEAH) Distinguished Scholar at Iowa State University, will present “Designing Humanity" Thursday, Sept. 27, at 8 p.m. in the Memorial Union's Sun Room.
Cravens will introduce the Center's fall programming series, "The Book of Life in a Genomic Age," providing historical background for contemporary notions about how we can, through such technologies as gene-splicing, improve or "design" human nature.
In his presentation, “Designing Humanity," Cravens will illustrate how the idea of a democratic society in the 19th century promoted a vision of social science, which called for the reformation of human nature and conduct through various “reforms," “crusades" and “movements," which were supposed to have permanent changes in the personalities that average Americans had. In the 20th century, professional academic social scientists championed a hierarchical vision of the remaking of personality and behavior through the development of such social sciences as progressive education, mental health therapy, institutional economics, and game theory. In both eras, the idea was to reshape human nature; it was social engineering, which went along with early to mid-20th century eugenics, and which was the intellectual antecedent of genetic engineering.
A leading academic in the history of social science and recent winner of a Fulbright Distinguished Chair Award, Cravens spent his time as the CEAH Distinguished Scholar writing a new book, Changing Notions of Race in America Since Reconstruction. The book will trace the history of American attitudes regarding race, as they were expressed in politics and law, science, and pop culture, over three chronological eras since 1870.
“Thoughts and deeds arise from the culture in which they are found, and belong to specific eras," Cravens says. “Thus the idea of race has changed over time."
The CEAH Distinguished Scholar spends a semester without teaching responsibilities to work on his or her scholarly research. The recipient presents a lecture to the university community upon their return to campus. During the spring of 2007, Cravens also worked on Changing Notions of Race in America Since Reconstruction while serving as the Fulbright-Dow Research ChHHamilton Crahe Netherlands.
This is the fourth time that Cravens has received a Fulbright Award. He has previously served as the George Bancroft Professor of American History at Goettingen University in Germany and as the J.W. Fulbright Distinguished Chair in American Studies at Bonn, Cologne and Heidelberg Universities also in Germany. He was also received a Fulbright Senior Specialist Award to Bonn University in the spring of 2006.
Cravens joined the Iowa State faculty in 1968. He has also taught at Ohio State University, the University of Washington, the University of Maryland and the University of California.
Prior to Cravens' lecture, the Center for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities will present an open house and reception in the Memorial Union's Campanile Room from 7-8 p.m. The open house will include presentations of a research poster session by 2007 CEAH Fellows.
Hamilton Cravens
|
