Special guest Dr. Sheldon Solomon, professor of psychology at Skidmore
College to present on September 17.
Sheldon Solomon to give annual Carey Memorial Lecture
Aug 26, 2014
Sheldon Solomon, professor of psychology at Skidmore College, will
examine the human fear of death during his presentation, “Afraid of
the Dark: Humanity at the Crossroads,” at the fourth annual James W.
Carey Memorial Lecture.
His presentation is set for Wednesday, September 17, from 7-8
p.m., in Loosemore Auditorium on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus.
Solomon’s presentation will provide an overview of cultural
anthropologist Ernest Becker’s ideas and empirical work surrounding
the idea that the uniquely human fear of death gives rise to
potentially paralyzing terror that is managed in ways that foster war,
climate instability, economic inequality and epidemic levels of psychopathology.
“These are arguably the most pressing problems confronting
humans in the 21st century,” said Solomon. “If they are not addressed
in short order, we may be the first form of life responsible for our
own extinction.”
The James W. Carey Memorial Lecture is being presented by the
Communication Studies major program, Psychology Department, School of
Communications, Institute of General Semantics, College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences, and Provost’s Office.
Carey, who died in 2006 at 71, was an important cultural historian
and theorist of communications and an influential teacher of journalists.
For more information, contact Valerie Peterson, professor of
communication studies, at [email protected].
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