Previous Cardinal Conversations

For Martin Luther King, Jr., writing was a fundamental part of the struggle. Through speeches, letters, and books, he documented the injustice he witnessed and called on America to live up to its promise that all are created equal. Students learned to follow his lead and raise their voices. A dedicated group of students in a supportive environment worked on crafting their own stories about identity, diversity, and the demand for social justice. 

What does it mean to be green? How can we conserve our natural resources? Why is sustainability important? What is the significance of alternative fuel sources? How do pesticides and GMOs impact our land and water resources? How do they impact humans? These are all questions that are rooted in agriculture and agribusiness. Students developed first hand responses to each of the above questions as well as others that emerged through on-site collaborative learning on farms and at agribusinesses in Kane and Dekalb counties by discussing with different farming families and other agribusiness owners how their livelihoods impacted society and the environment.

Museums and aquariums provide important opportunities for informal learning related to a range of disciplines as well as important family experiences. The course focused on doing research and evaluation in informal learning spaces. Students travelled to the Dupage Children's Musuem, the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Brookfield Zoom and the Museum of Science and Industry to learn how these institutions use research and evaluation. Additionally, students had the opportunity to learn about specific research techniques and were able to practice those techniques.

Followed by a brief history of the development of square dancing as an American folk dance, participants will be shown several connections between square dancing and mathematics. Students were taught around 100 calls and 10 concepts (call modifiers) primarily from the first 3 levels of square dancing. The "final exam" was a dance called by one of the top square dance callers in the country. Neither dancing experience nor specialized knowledge of mathematics was required, but having a knack for spatial visualization helped. All majors were welcome. 

This course explored what the visual arts can teach us about the organization of the human mind and how we can use what we know about the human mind to better understand the visual arts. The course included exploring the Art Institute of Chicago, dissecting a cow eye, creating art, and viewing a film (IMAX or 3D). No science or art experience was required.

This course took students to the heart of Chicago to experience and observe different manifestations of Islamic art, architecture and culinary traditions. The students had the opportunity to witness the diversity of histories, cultures and religions of the Middle East through viewing select objects at the New Galleries for Islamic Art at the Art Institute of Chicago. The sampled the products of exquisite Turkish culinary traditions at Galata restaurant in the West Loop, and also had a chance to watch a play by an Iranian playwright at Silk Road Rising Theatre.