“When was the last time you were courageous?” Milena Sudarikov asked, amidst an engaged crowd at an event called Roundtable Discussion: Dialogues on the Topic of Courage, a discussion between professors and students centered around journalism.
The planners and contributors to this discussion included professors Benjamin Ogden, Michael Steinmann, Ashley Lytle, Jason Vredenburg, and students Garrett Kincaid, and Milena Sudarikov, Mariapia Riso, and Cosmo Gallaro. Kincaid and Sudarikov both hold positions on the Stevens’ Palaver Editorial Board.
Prior to the event, The Stute was able to contact Benjamin Ogden, a professor in the CAL department and a key member of the discussion board, for information regarding the planning behind it. According to him, the idea behind Palaver initially came from his desire “to find a journal of ideas at Stevens, one that would feature spirited writing on a variety of topics.” After managing to recruit students Milena Sudarikov and Garrett Kincaid, they came to the conclusion that there weren’t enough opportunities for professors and students to “engage in intellectual dialogue through writing” outside of the classroom. Thus, they set out to create Palaver: The Stevens Journal.
The idea to kickstart the dialogue with the theme of courage made sense to Ogden. It is an area he is well acquainted with, having a book on the intellectual history of courage close to completion. Sudarikov and Kincaid were both on par with the idea and excited for the outcome.
The first meeting was held on Zoom and had 88 people in attendance. Contributors came from a variety of disciples including English, film, psychology, philosophy, and physics to name just a few. In the email exchange, Ogden mentioned that this would be an open dialogue and will focus on “what personal experiences have most shaped the participants conceptions of courage; what courage means in society today; what role courage plays in the classroom, for both students and professors; and whether courage is a skill that can be learned (a form of knowledge) or whether it is something one is born with (something instinctual).” As Ogden expected, this was a highly productive discussion with audience members jumping in at times to describe their interpretation of courage. In response to Sudarikov’s question and others, many pitched in their own respective thoughts, touching on topics such as morals and modern society.
For those who missed the first discussion, you can watch it here. The PDF of the Dialogue can be found by completing the google form here. Stay tuned for the next issue.
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