Oct. 13, 2008

Four guest speakers will address “Identity” at Hastings College during the 23rd annual 2008 Artist Lecture Series (ALS) Student Symposium, Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 22 and 23.

The symposium will compare virtual identity to real-world identity.
Lectures will be in French Memorial Chapel and are free and open to the public. Speakers include: C.L. Lindsay, Sara Robbins, Dr. Seth Schwartz, and Dr. Marc Hight.

7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 22
C.L. Lindsay, former attorney and founder of the Coalition for Student and Academic Rights (CO-STAR), will address: “Trouble Online: Campus Computing and the Law. How your Facebook/Myspace pages can come back to haunt you.” He will discuss plagiarism and intellectual property online, how the content of a MySpace page can undermine job opportunities, and the dangers of Internet predators obtaining personal information.

Through CO-STAR, Lindsay helps thousands of college students with their legal problems, free of charge, each week. He is a nationally recognized expert and leader in the field of student rights and academic freedom. He has appeared on national television and radio, and in U.S. News & World Report, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Review of Higher Education, The Washington Post, and The Chicago Tribune. 

9 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 23
Sara Robbins will address: “Gestalt Identity: How Social Media and Virtual Worlds Make Us More than the Sum of Our Part.”

Robbins teaches freshman composition and is a digital coach at Ball State University, Muncie, Ind. She teaches students how to use technology to be more productive and creative. Robbins also does consulting work for education and business and helps people make the most of technologies available.

Robbins spends her time blogging, researching, and traveling to speak to groups about Second Life (an online Multi-User Virtual Environment), virtual worlds, and web 2.0 technologies. She is interested in how virtual environments foster collaboration and community building.

10:30 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 23
Dr. Seth Schwartz will address: “Identity in a Postmodern World: Situating Oneself in a Land of Possibilities.”

Schwartz defines personal identity in terms of an individual’s goals, values, and beliefs in areas such as political preference, religious ideology, occupational choice, family and friend relationship styles, and gender role ideologies.

Schwartz is a research associate professor at the Center for Family Studies, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Fla. His interests in personal identity include developing and refining models of modeling to be applicable and consistent across ethnic groups; establishing linkages between and among different conceptions of identity that have been studied separately. Schwartz has written more than 30 peer-reviewed papers on personal identity and self-concept.

1 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 23
The blockbuster movie “Identity” will be shown. The movie focuses on a man with multiple-personality disorder, and stars John Cusack, Ray Leota and Amanda Peet.

3 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 23
Sara Robbins and Dr. Seth Schwartz will present a Second Life workshop in Wilson Center Auditorium.  Students and faculty will collaborate on Identity.

7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 23
Dr. Marc Hight will address: "The Elusive Self: The Metaphysics of Why You Do Not Matter."

Hight is an associate professor of philosophy at Hamden-Sydney College, Hamden-Sydney, Va. He studies the ontological status of ideas, theories of property and ownership, the nature of personal identity, and issues in the philosophy of history and the social sciences. Hight teaches history of philosophy, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of history, philosophy of natural science, naturalized ethics, philosophy of religion and critical thinking and logic.

Faculty sponsor for the symposium is Dr. John Kuehn, assistant professor of biology.

Students on the committee include: Amanda Schademann, senior, Martin/Denise Schademann, Seward, Neb.; Kenny R. Smith, junior, Wayne/Susan Smith, Aurora, Colo.; Jeff Hartman, senior, Douglas/Sharon Hartman, Columbus, Neb.; Jessica Thompson, junior, Jay/Leslie Thompson, Pine, Colo.; Katie Allsup-Armstrong, junior, Michael/Peggy Allsup-Armstrong, Eaton, Colo.; Greg Haus, senior, James/Roberta Haus, Tulsa, Okla.; Colt Kraus, senior, Tracy/Suzanne Kraus, Taylor, Neb.; April Christensen, sophomore, Bruce/Cheryl Christensen, Hardy, Neb.; Heidi Hullinger, junior, Timothy/Lisa Hullinger, Westminster, Colo.; Sara Ninabuck, senior, Barbara Ninabuck, Edgar, Neb.; and Sara Kluver, junior, Stephen/Suzanne Kluver, Fairfield, Neb.

The ALS Student Symposium is a program designed to bring artists and lecturers to campus each year that focus on a selected topic. Past symposium topics have featured: Terrorism, Generation X, America and the World, Global Village Competition, Play, Revolutions and Truth, and Frontiers.
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