If you’re afraid of your brain turning to mush this summer, the Fuller Terrace Fundamental Freedoms Lecture Series is back, presenting backyard talks throughout the month. Started last year by Dal architecture grad student Devin McCarthy and artist/curator Emily Jones as a reaction to when protesters thwarted a public presentation by “race-realist” Jared Taylor, this year’s series kicks off Thursday, August 7 with the fantastic artist, Emily Vey Duke, followed by assistant professor of Comparative Religious Ethics at Saint Mary’s University, Nancie Erhard(August 14) and no-bullshit writer, Laura Penny (August 28).
“The lecture series is about the fundamental freedoms, but that’s a boundless theme,” says Jones, again coordinating along with artist Vincent Perez. “We look for people that we feel are either already ‘about’ the theme, or we ask the lecturers to work with it. We don’t know what people will lecture on before they tell us. It’s exciting to see what they come up with.”
Unlike large institutions, lecturers don’t have mics or projectors, but they’re fed dinner and don’t have to deal with stuffy old rooms. Jones thinks that audience members are also more comfortable and respectful because they’re in a private backyard. “Most of the question and discussion periods that go on after public lectures in typical settings need a moderator to make sure that things flow smoothly, but I find that can be a little stifling. Last year, after each lecture there was lengthy, interesting discussion that unfolded more or less organically.”
All lectures start at 8pm. The backyard is accessed from Belleaire Terrace, so look for a sign on that street, just past North. In case of rain, the date will move to the next night.
This article appears in Jul 31 – Aug 6, 2008.