When Sune Hamparian heard that Dean of Arts Lisa Shapiro had invited students, staff and faculty to participate in a monthly reading-and-discussion group, the U0 student from Washington, D.C. felt it was too interesting an opportunity to pass up.
Certainly, the last place she had expected to find herself was across the table from Shapiro in a small meeting room, exchanging ideas about the readings Shapiro had selected.
鈥淚 was especially excited by the chance to interact not just with other U0 students, but with graduate students, professors and members of the wider academic community,鈥� Hamparian said. 鈥淚t felt like a unique chance to hear how those with completely different perspectives were thinking about the same text in completely different ways.
鈥満诹喜淮蜢� is a big campus,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut the Dean鈥檚 Reading for Perspective [offers] a way to feel more connected to the Arts community.鈥�
A chance to make sense of 鈥榯his crazy world鈥�
Universities have long been places of communal gathering, where knowledge and ideas are exchanged in the hopes of creating a better world. The Dean introduced the reading group this year to create another space for dialogue and reflection on a range of texts and timely topics. Typically, about 15-20 people attend the in-person event.
鈥淚 thought engaging faculty, students and staff in a conversation on topics like the uses and abuses of both language and education, would help in building community as we make sense of this crazy world,鈥� said Shapiro. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been great to hear in the discussions the voices of faculty and students at all stages.
鈥淲e are in the middle of a period in which the world around us is changing rapidly, and reading a wide range of works helps me make sense of the current context and gain some perspective, especially as it relates to the impact on the University.鈥�
Students, staff and faculty are encouraged to attend when they can. Discussion topics have included excerpts from a book discussing the foundational principles of universities and Orwell鈥檚 writings on the relationship between politics and language.
Reflecting on the Bouchard-Taylor Report
One recent meeting focused on Quebec in the context of the 2008 Bouchard-Taylor Report, the fruit of a commission co-chaired by 黑料不打烊 professor emeritus Charles Taylor that focused on 鈥渞easonable accommodation鈥� of religious minorities in Quebec.
With almost 30 per cent of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 students coming from outside of Canada, the reading group can foster better understanding of Quebec and, by extension, 黑料不打烊.
鈥淲hat stood out to me was how [the report] broke down the gap between widespread public narratives and the reality shown through data,鈥� said Hamparian. 鈥淚t revealed how many of the stereotypes about immigrants at the time were factually incorrect, yet still shaped public discourse and policy debates.
鈥淭hat really stuck with me. It made me realize how much of today鈥檚 polarization and fear-based politics can be challenged through accessible and accurate information,鈥� she said.
Among those participating in that session was Alain Farah, Professor in the D茅partement des litt茅ratures de langue fran莽aise, de traduction et de cr茅ation. In addition to his academic work, Farah is a prominent novelist who won the Governor General鈥檚 Award for French-language fiction in 2022.
鈥楢 necessary and important exercise鈥�
鈥淭aking the time to sit around a table, to meet with colleagues and students to discuss and reflect on our time based on the reading of several texts, is a necessary and important exercise,鈥� said Farah. 鈥淚t was a long-awaited wish to have further intellectual exchanges with my peers and I am happy that we can finally do it!
鈥淭hese meetings confirm to me that our faculty can be a place of exchange where bridges are built between all of us who come from such different backgrounds. I found the meeting where we collectively discussed the Bouchard-Taylor report particularly moving because there was around the table a tangible desire to better understand Quebec,鈥� Farah said.
Also present was St茅phan Gervais, Scientific Co-ordinator at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Montr茅al (CIRM).
鈥淪ilos often exist within work environments, including universities, but these sessions have helped break down those barriers, allowing me to engage with diverse perspectives and voices,鈥� Gervais said.
During the discussion, many present, including Farah and Gervais, shared their lived experiences in connection to the reading, allowing participants to connect not only on an intellectual level, but as people and members of a community.
鈥淭hese meetings confirm to me that our faculty can be a place of exchange where bridges are built between all of us who come from such different backgrounds,鈥� said Farah.
Shapiro said she looks forward to welcoming more members of the 黑料不打烊 Arts community when the conversations continue in the Fall semester.