2012-13 Theme: The Right To Think?!
Our theme for 2012-13 is “The Right To Think?! Science, Politics and Public Perception.” Our four theatre productions investigate different aspects of the current American discourse on the relationship between truth and ideology. In each play, knowledge provided by science creates personal and social crisis over questions of ethics, morality , politics, economics and the public good. These American landscapes include the issues of industrial waste and pollution, media manipulation in the interest of economics, the uninformed electorate, abortion and poverty, human communication in the age of technology, and academic freedom and the teaching of evolution.
In connection to the productions we are offering a series of Coffee Talks with distinguished panelists and public dialogue over the topics raised by the plays.
Make sure to follow this website to get all the updates.
Posted by mmufson on 4:41 am in The Right To Think? | 0 comments
Join Palomar Performing Arts in our
2012-13 Campus Wide Exploration of
The Right to Think!? Science Politics and Public Perception
In our current political and economic climate, what are the obstacles and challenges to creating a well-informed citizenry capable of grappling with the difficult choices that face our nation? Our information comes broadly from three sources. Here are some specific questions on my mind. Please add more by replying to this post and attending our Coffee Talks.
MEDIA:
- What is the responsibility of the media to act as honest brokers of factual and truthful information?
- What is the impact of corporate ownership of media?
- Can the ‘New Media’ or ‘Citizen’s Media’ on the internet counter-act the bias of corporate owned media?
- Has commerical media become the new ‘opiate of the masses?’
EDUCATION:
- What are the challenges to our public education system in this time of economic disparity and political division?
- How do vested interests influence the public perception of teachers and education policy?
- How do we identify the actual obstacles to student achievement and fashion an education system that addresses those obstacles?
- Who defines the goals of our education system? Are we merely preparing students for ‘success’ workplace or are we creating a foundation for life-long engagement with the critical issues of living in this world?
GOVERNMENT:
- Can we trust information from the government?
- To what extent does the political agenda of an administration influence the reports and policies of governmental agencies?
- How does the government influence the commercial media?
- To what extent does privileged access to high government officials taint the flow of news and information from the government to the people?
Help make this truly a campus wide integrative learning project. Join the Discussion
- Discuss any related topic in your class and add it to the list of participating classes. Click Here
- Give extra credit for attending one of our theatre productions and or coffee talks. More Info
- Offer your expertise to one of our panels or start a panel discussion of your own. Contact Christopher Sinnott or Michael Mufson
Posted by mmufson on 11:56 pm in The Right To Think? | 0 comments
Yes, it’s true, the Texas GOP adopted the following statement in it’s 2012 platform:
Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.
This provides a perfect example of why it is so so necessary to address the issues raised by this series. The Texas Republican platform represents a rising tide of forces aligned against the freedom of though championed by public education. It may seem laughable, but we who care about education and the direction of our nation should take this as a wake-up call.
Don’t take “The Freedom To Think” for granted. Join us this year as we engage in open, critical dialogue on these controversial topics that define American values.
Posted by mmufson on 5:53 am in 2012-13, Great Images, The Right To Think? | 0 comments
Our theme for 2012-13 is “The Right To Think?! Science, Politics and Public Perception.” Our four theatre productions investigate different aspects of the current American discourse on the relationship between truth and ideology. In each play, knowledge provided by science creates personal and social crisis over questions of ethics, morality , politics, economics and the public good. These American landscapes include the issues of industrial waste and pollution, media manipulation in the interest of economics, the uninformed electorate, abortion and poverty, human communication in the age of technology, and academic freedom and the teaching of evolution.
In connection to the productions we are offering a series of Coffee Talks with distinguished panelists and public dialogue over the topics raised by the plays.
Make sure to follow this website to get all the updates.
