One day after the 2012 presidential election, three highly respected Nashvillians with diverse areas of expertise will stand back from the election frenzy to discuss what the future might hold at this month’s Thinking Out of the (Lunch) Box: Conversations with a Philosophical Flavor with David Wood.
Michael Bess and Mike Vandenbergh, two Vanderbilt University professors, and Samar Ali, a Vanderbilt alumna who works in the Haslam administration, will address “Visions of the Future” Nov. 7 at the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St.
Bess, the Chancellor’s Professor of History, has a strong research-based interest in how technology may dramatically change our lives. He is currently writing a book called Icarus 2.0: Justice and Identity in a Bioengineered Civilization, which explores the ethical and social implications of new technologies for human biological enhancement.
Vandenbergh, professor of law and director of the Climate Change Research Network, holds the Tarkington Chair in Teaching Excellence. His research interests include environmental law and policy, social and behavioral sciences, private governance, climate change, energy law and policy, and presidential control of agency decision-making.
Ali, who earned her undergraduate and law degrees from Vanderbilt, was recently appointed international director of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. Ali’s role includes overseeing TNTrade, a statewide initiative focused on boosting exports from small and medium-sized Tennessee businesses, as well as the department’s other international initiatives, including managing four international offices.
Each (Lunch) Box talk, which begins with lunch at 11:30 a.m., is hosted by David Wood, W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt and founder of the series.
Reservations are no longer necessary for this event, which is co-hosted by the Vanderbilt Department of Philosophy and the Friends of the Nashville Public Library.
Box lunches will be available, starting at 11:30 a.m., for the first 150 people to arrive. A voluntary donation of $5 is requested per lunch to help defray expenses. Lunch will continue to be in the library’s auditorium, but the conversation moves to the main lecture theater across the hall from noon to 1 p.m.
For more information, contact David Wood at david.c.wood@vanderbilt.edu.