Belmont’s School of Humanities will be hosting its Sixth Annual Fall Humanities Symposium next week, featuring guest lectures and special events all built around the topic, “Transforming Travel: Rewriting the World as We Know It.” Running Sun., Nov. 11 through Mon., Nov. 19, the symposium will focus on the ways in which travel literature and narratives transform our world.
A range of events and readings will be offered from experts in the field of travel writing. A few highlights include the following:
Vanderbilt University’s Dr. Molly Miller, a geologist, will be speaking on Mon., Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. on her research in Antarctica in her talk, “Life and (Cold) Hard Times in Antarctica: Mixing Science and Travel while Unraveling the Frozen Continent’s Climatic and Ecological History.”
Alexa Smith, formerly of the Presbyterian News Service, will offer her perspective on the challenges of reporting on religious communities isolated in areas of international conflict in her Tues., Nov. 13 lecture at 3:30 p.m. on “The Struggle for Authenticity in a Conflict Zone: Transforming Subject, Reader and Writer.”
Tony D’Souza, freelance journalist and award winning author of Whiteman, will speak on Wed., Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. on his experiences in Central America and his involvement in the Eric Volz trial, in his talk ““From Mariscos to Mariachis to a Murder Trial: How a Central American Freelance Jaunt Became a Literary and Legal Nightmare.”
Brice Minnigh—a Belmont alumnus, freelance travel journalist, extreme adventurer, Fulbright scholar and co-author of The Rough Guide to Taiwan—will speak on Thurs., Nov. 15 at 3:30 p.m. on “Passion and Profession: The Art of Making the Two Meet Through Adventure Travel Writing and Photography.”
Dr. Margaret Doody, renowned scholar and novelist from the University of Notre Dame, will speak on Thurs., Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. on the place of Venice in the Western imagination in her talk “The Traveler in Venice: Moving through Space, Time, and Change.”
The kick-off event takes Sunday evening, Nov. 11, with a reading of travel-related writing by members of the Belmont community. Other highlights include a reception Wednesday for the symposium speakers, a Humorous Travel Essay Competition and a Writing Workshop focused on freelance/travel-related writing.
For additional information and a complete listing of all events in this year’s symposium, visit the online program at www.belmont.edu/english/humanities_symposium.
