Upcoming Theme (2026-27)
There are limits to human perception. Our eyes can only see a tiny fraction of wavelengths in the visible spectrum, which neuroscientist David Eagleman equates with seeing 0.0035% of reality. Astronomers agree there is a "future visibility limit" beyond which objects will never enter the observable universe. While technology allows humans to perceive beyond the naked eye鈥檚 limitations, making ultraviolet, gamma rays, radio waves, infrared radiation, and other wavelengths accessible, we still cannot and do not see much of existence.
Over centuries, though, we have sought additional modes of 鈥渟ight鈥� and made space for the unseen. Spirituality is rooted in faith, trusting beyond the visible world. Psychedelic drugs have been used to alter perception or consciousness, with potential for what writer and philosopher Aldous Huxley dubbed 鈥渟acramental vision.鈥� Economists debate the metaphor of the 鈥渋nvisible hand鈥� where free markets are self-regulating systems destined to create economically optimal outcomes for the public good. We accept that people put forth public faces while also possessing unseen private lives. We interact without wholly knowing each other鈥檚 motivations, instead forced to trust what can be observed through evidence, experience, or鈥ibes.
This year鈥檚 Symposium will approach the unseen from a variety of disciplines and approaches. The discourse generated will tackle the topic expansively, interrogating how the unseen informs our understanding of our individual and collective experiences and gives shape to the universe as we know it.
Teach a Symposium Course
- Hiding the human cost of process and progress (e.g. labor made invisible, colonization, production, etc.)
- Behind-the-scenes (e.g. the art of construction, theatrical set building, etc.)
- Aspects of the natural world (e.g. bacteria, mycorrhizal networks connecting trees, etc.)
- Machinations of advertising, branding, controlling the narrative, subliminal messaging, etc.
- Illusion (e.g. sleight of hand magic tricks, trompe l'oeil painting, forced perspective, one-way mirrors, etc.)
- Consciousness raising and creating visibility
- Surveillance, hidden cameras, security, panopticons, etc.
- Invisibility and visibility as metaphors in cultural texts
- The power of visibility and representation
- 鈥淪ightless鈥� truth and 鈥渂lind鈥� justice
- Signifying (e.g. handkerchief code or flagging, code-switching, etc.)
- Hiding in plain sight (e.g. camouflage in nature, social mores to fit into society, etc.)
- Visible versus invisible social identities (e.g. passing, invisible disabilities, etc.)
- Beliefs (e.g. religion, spiritualism, truth, astronomy, tarot, aliens, etc.)
- Conspiracy theories, secret societies, etc.
- Magic Eye, Is it Cake?, Where鈥檚 Waldo, and other texts that play with perception
How the Sausage Gets Made: Exploring the Means of Production
In the industrial world, sometimes ugly components of production are purposefully obfuscated because the truth might impact a business’s bottom line. At times we may choose to ignore uncomfortable truths because acknowledging the reality lessens the joy of consumption. In this class, we will investigate the ugly and uncomfortable through the lenses of philosophy, sociology, and economics. Case studies will include meat production, querying the farming practices related to raising, feeding, and killing cattle for human consumption. We will examine the lifespan of a sneaker, including paying designers (or not), modes of production including practices of child labor through a sneaker’s final resting place in a landfill conveniently located away from developed nations where most of the world’s consumption occurs.
Course proposal for the 2026-27 Symposium is closed. The theme and course proposal process for the 2027-28 Symposium will be shared in Fall 2026.