Spring 2021
Message from the Director
On behalf of the Glasscock Center team, I would like to send along our concern and well wishes to all affected by the awful winter storm in Texas last week and subsequent power outages and water problems. We hope that everyone is staying safe.
These tumultuous times bring to the fore the importance of shared humanity across communities and more widely across societies and cultures. Our major upcoming events speak to this virtue of interconnectedness in the context of current events. On March 1, a half-day webinar symposium, “The Long-Term Impacts of Pandemics: Ongoing Disruptions to Society, Families, and the Economy,” will focus on various disruptions to individuals, society, and economies during and after epidemics. Panels will incorporate the perspectives of those with first-hand experience of epidemics, as well as humanities scholars and healthcare practitioners. We are collaborating with the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at The Bush School of Government and Public Service to present this event.
On March 3, we are delighted to welcome the winner of the 21st Annual Susanne M. Glasscock Humanities Book Prize for Interdisciplinary Scholarship, Professor Susan Neiman, for a short webinar presentation and Q&A about Learning From the Germans: Race and the Memory of Evil. In her deeply topical and engaging book, Professor Neiman draws upon philosophical reflection, personal stories, and interviews with both Americans and Germans to explore how they are grappling with the evils of their own national histories.
This month, we are holding our annual (virtual) Glasscock Humanities Festival, which draws together a set of our key events. The festival kicked off with the opening of our virtual exhibition of the awarded COVID-19 Micro-grant projects: arts and humanities-based works engaging lived experiences of the pandemic. We encourage you to view these amazing projects. We have also been enjoying discussions at our weekly Glasscock Fellows’ colloquia, which continue on Zoom throughout the semester. Please join us for these events, as well as our upcoming book chats! Finally, we are excited to launch a new part of our website which provides information, news, and events relating to our developing Public Humanities initiative.
Thanks to the generosity of Melbern and Susanne Glasscock and the commitment of Texas A&M faculty, students, and staff, we continue our work in supporting the university community in flexible, creative, and safe ways during the ongoing pandemic. All of us at the Glasscock Center send our best wishes for a smooth and rewarding semester.
Emily Brady
Susanne M. and Melbern G. Glasscock Director and Chair
Professor of Philosophy