A Harvard professor with rock star status will present the
Distinguished Academic Lecture during the Fall Arts Celebration at
Grand Valley State University.
Michael Sandel will present “Justice: What’s the Right Thing
to Do?” Thursday, September 22, at 7 p.m. at the L.V. Eberhard
Center, 301 W. Fulton, Pew Grand Rapids Campus.
A professor of political philosophy at Harvard since 1980,
Sandel’s wildly popular course, “Justice,” has enrolled more than
15,000 students. The introduction to moral and political philosophy is
based on the great philosophers of the past and their relevance to
contemporary issues, ranging from affirmative action and bioethics, to
government bailouts and immigration reform.
Fred Antczak, dean of Grand Valley’s College of Liberal Arts and
Sciences, called Sandel one of the leading public philosophers of our
time. “His recent New York Times best-seller,
Justice, is that rare accomplishment — an excellent work of
professional philosophy that is accessible to the public,” he said.
“And it has had far-reaching impact.”
In fact, Sandel’s is the first Harvard course to be made freely
available online (www.JusticeHarvard.org).
Segments of his lectures have also been broadcast on PBS, BBC and to
audiences in Japan on NHK. His books, essays and lectures have
captured audiences, in part, because of his engaging style and wealth
of knowledge that brings historic context to bear on contemporary
issues.
Sandel graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Brandeis
University in 1975 and received a doctorate from Balliol College,
Oxford, as a Rhodes scholar. His other books include Liberalism
and the Limits of Justice, Democracy’s Discontent, Public
Philosophy: Essays on Morality in Politics and The Case
against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering.
His work has been translated into 15 foreign languages.
Sandel’s book, Justice, will be available for purchase
and signing after the lecture. For more information about Fall Arts
Celebration visit www.gvsu.edu/fallarts, or call
(616) 331-2180.
Fall Arts Celebration is made possible, in part, through the
generosity of sponsors including, Ginny Gearhart and the Gearhart
Family, Liesel and Hank Meijer, Elaine and Larry Shay, Judy and Peter
Theune, and media partner WOOD Radio.
