AN INVITATION
THE ANNUAL SEMINAR
Education in a Global Context
Interdisciplinary, Intercultural, and
Interreligious Approaches
August 2-8,
2014 Vallendar,
Germany
A
Cooperation with
the Catholic University Vallendar (PTHV)
Seminar Program
Theme
Education or "paideia,"
"Bildung," or the formation of an outlook and way of
life has been a central issue throughout the human
history, both East and West. For Plato, education
was not simply to put knowledge into people's mind
'like putting sight into blind eyes' but rather to
free the entire soul for what was 'brightest.' For
the educator is to go to society, as with
Socrates, this meant turning
to society to draw
out its sense
of truth, justice, courage and moderation,
thereby enabling people to be friends of wisdom.
However, the theory and hence the pressures of
modern life have associated knowledge
with power
which humans could use for their own benefit, both
personal and professional. Recently the purpose of
education has become further rationalized
as a training process to enhance human instrumental
reasoning. With the rapid development of science,
technology, and industrialization, as well as of
finance, market economics, and commercialization,
education was turned into a means for learning
skills and techniques. Thus, schools and
universities have come to
serve only
utilitarian purposes, namely, to train students to
learn skills or techniques to fit into the job
market, in order to be
promoted, to gain
high salaries, and so on. In this sense, education
is considered part of the commercial
market focusing on competition for profits and
interest, which neglecting such important
dimensions of education as formation, cultivation
and moral education.
The value which the Catholic University of Vallendar
would seek to add is
to open the meaning
of an education and human
striving to the formation
of an enriched sense of personhood. It
seeks to relate education, e.g.,
- to
a life of caring with the means now provided by
science and technology in this explosive and fast
developing age of information and communication;
- to the
meaning of this for life in a democratic society, and
- to promote
intercultural dialogue in these ever more
complex global times.
In sum, education faces many
challenges today: social, economic and political.
These emerge from modern technology, the sciences,
and globalization and entail rapid transformation of
traditional ways of life.
As these challenges tend to reduce education to job
training they will
be addressed in a series of annual one week
seminars about education at the Catholic University
of Vallendar, Germany. The seminar will bring
together experts from different disciplinary,
cultural, and religious backgrounds for a creative rethinking
about education. Eachseminar
will focus on one main topic:
Education and the Human
Person (2014)
Education and Intercultural
and Interreligious Dialogue (2015)
Education and Technology
(2016)
Education and Democracy
(2017)
Application
Applications for participation in this seminar
should be sent by email by February 1, 2014,
toH.Zaborowski@pthv.de and cua-rvp@cua.edu.
Participants will cover their own travel costs. The
PTHV will provide simple room and board. The seminar
will be held at the Catholic University in
Vallendar, Germany (www.pthv.de).
The participants will arrive on August 2 and depart
on August 8. The University is about 90 minutes away
from Frankfurt International Airport.
The application should
include:
(1) a vita describing one's education,
professional positions and activities;
(2) a list of the applicants' publications;
(3) a letter stating your interest and involvement
in this theme and its relation to your past and
future work in philosophy and related studies; and
(4) an abstract of a study(s) you might present as
an integral part of the seminar.
Further Information:
Contact: Prof. Dr. Dr.
Holger Zaborowski
Lehrstuhl für Geschichte
der Philosophie und philosophische Ethik
Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Vallendar
Pallottistr. 3
56179 Vallendar
Deutschland / Germany
H.Zaborowski@pthv.de
This program is also
supported by the European Academy
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