“Teaching” Values
“Teaching” Values
Date: 25 November, 2009 (Wednesday)
Speakers:
Prof. Ivette Vargas-O’Bryan (Associate Professor of Asian Religions, Austin College, Texas)
Prof. Joseph Chaney (Associate Professor of English, Indiana University - South Bend)
The Ten-Year Vision Statement of CUHK expresses, in part, the following goals for its academic programmes: "The programmes offered shall strike a balance between enduring academic, social and cultural values, and the needs of society for a highly qualified workforce." Recent debate over the promotion of social and cultural values in education has centered on the possible conflict between values education and disciplinary and professional training. Taking as our starting point the article by Mark W. Roche, "Should Faculty Members Teach Virtues and Values? That is the Wrong Question" (Liberal Education, Summer 2009, 32-37, available online at http://www.aacu.org/liberaleducation/le-su09/le-su09_Roche.cfm), we shall investigate the degree to which we already "teach" values; and we will attempt to define the status of values as a consideration in university instruction and in general education especially.
About the Speaker
Professors Vargas-O’Bryan and Chaney will lead a seminar on the question of whether values should be taught at the university, whether they can be taught, and if so how they might be taught or addressed in the classroom. Much of the session will take the form of open discussion. Participants will have an opportunity to ask questions, explore possible answers, and share teaching methods.
Prof. Ivette Vargas-O’Bryan is Associate Professor of Asian Religions at Austin College in Texas. Prof. Vargas-O’Bryan is currently a visiting Fulbright Scholar teaching at City University of Hong Kong. She teaches “Religion and Society in Asia” in the Department of Asian and International Studies. She has also been involved in the discussions with Fulbright on general education in Hong Kong.
Prof. Joseph Chaney is Associate Professor of English at Indiana University - South Bend. Prof. Chaney was Director of General Education at the Indiana University South Bend from 2004-08. He is hosted by the Office of University General Education at the CUHK as a Fulbright Scholar. In Term 2, he will teach the UGE course UGD2411 ‘Classics for Today: In Search of Good Life and Good Society’.
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