Schools meet, explore freedom

Students and faculty members from JMU and other universities met on Thursday and Friday to present papers to the JMU conferfence, "Freedom: Humanity’s Unending Quest."

Students and faculty from Washington and Lee University and Georgetown University also took part in the event.

This is the third annual paper conference of its kind, founder Giuliana Fazzion said. The department of foreign languages and literature invited faculty, students, independent scholars and researchers to submit abstracts and proposals of their papers. They also were encouraged to form panel discussions and workshops.

Fazzion said the topic of freedom allowed participants to examine the subject from many points of view, including politically, economically and historically.

"This year went very well," Fazzion said. "It was very stimulating and we had great participation from students." She added that the conference was an opportunity for the colleges within JMU to collaborate and for participants to share and exchange ideas. Fazzion said she already has chosen next year’s topic — human rights.

The conference included sessions that grouped papers exploring aspects of freedom in theater and literature, philosophical concepts of freedom and the limited freedom of women throughout history. A moderator initiated discussion and debate among audience members and participants after the paper presentations.

English professor Mark Facknitz presented a paper titled, "W.G. Sebald and the Liberation of the Imagination."

"[This conference] allows the faculty to hear about each other’s work," Facknitz said. "We see each other every day, but this adds a different dimension."

Facknitz said the benefit of this conference was that students heard about the topic of freedom from different perspectives. He added that the conference enabled professors to bring back the exchange of ideas to the classroom.

William Hawk, professor of philosophy and religion, said, "The theme of freedom is interesting. It’s important to have a debate about ongoing intellectual issues." Hawk’s paper, "The Rights to Bear and to Refuse to Bear Arms," was based on the change in wording to James Madison’s original Bill of Rights.