McMaster School for Advancing Humanity to hold Annual Symposium April 8-9

March 24, 2015

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance College’s McMaster School for Advancing Humanity will hold its eleventh annual McMaster Symposium April 8-9 on the DC campus. The theme will be “The Question of Individual Liberties as Critical to Improving the Human Condition.” All presentations are free and open to the public.

On Wednesday, April 8, beginning at 9 a.m., McMaster Learning Communities will be leading presentions about their recent experiences in Belize, Cambodia and Tanzania. The Carolyn M. Small Honors Program will discuss a recent exploratory trip to Panama and Nicaragua, and Service Leaders will give a presentation on their service trip to Washington, D.C. The presentations continue through 3 p.m. in Schomburg Auditorium.

Keynote speaker Earl Taylor Jr. will speak on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Schomburg Auditorium. His presentation titled “America’s Five Thousand Year Leap” will describe the discovery of the Principles of Liberty during a “trial and error” period between 1607 and 1787, and the institutionalization of these principles into America’s founding documents.

Taylor explains that it was this process that propelled the nation’s progress further in 200 years than mankind has gone in more than 5,000 year before.

Taylor has taught The Making of American Constitutional Study course throughout the country for the past 30 years. He has developed other study courses for a wide range of participants, from high school students to state legislators. He graduated from Arizona State with a degree in corporate finance. He built a real estate and development business over a period of 18 years, and in 1996, was asked to serve as president of the National Center for Constitutional Studies.

Along with writing a special study guide for the Boy Scouts to help them earn their citizenship merit badges and helping structure courses on the U.S. Constitution for college recertification of public school teachers, Taylor established one of the first charter high schools in Arizona, the Heritage Academy, where he developed a special curriculum for teaching about the Founding Fathers.

On Thursday morning, Taylor will lead a break-out session to continue his discussion of Wednesday’s keynote address.

Lunch table discussions will focus on a variety of issues in today’s headlines, from ISIS to ebola, to the Lake Erie algae bloom.

Afternoon break-out sessions will continue. Dr. Jeff St. Onge will lead “The Myth of American Individualism,” Rev. Mary Schaller Blaufuss leads a discussion on “Navigating the Tensions: Intentional Community for Social Change,” and Dr. Elçin Haskollar leads “Talking with Chinese and American Students: What Ferguson Teaches Us About Individualism and Collectivism.”

On Friday, April 10, the Carolyn M. Small Honors Program will present its annual spring symposium. Through poster and oral presentations, DC students will present research and scholarly works related to their course work.

For more information about the symposium and a schedule, go to the Symposium website.

Defiance College, chartered in 1850, is an independent, liberal arts institution in Northwest Ohio offering more than 40 undergraduate programs of study as well as graduate programs in education and business. Defiance College has received national recognition for its educational experience of service and engagement. The college website is www.defiance.edu.