The Faculty Convivium is a luncheon lecture series featuring SUNY Oneonta faculty who present their research and creative activity projects, accessible to the non-specialist, in a collegial atmosphere.
Seating is limited. To reserve a seat please call 607-436-2517 at least several days before a scheduled Convivium talk. Vegetarian meals are available.
Questions? Comments? Email a member of the Faculty Convivium committee.
Spring 2024 Lecture Series
Presented in Otsego Grille, Morris Conference Center, at noon
(unless otherwise noted)
Hans Christian Andersen and the Pythagorean Theorem
Most people will know at least some of the fairy tales by the renowned Danish author Hans Christian Andersen (1805–75). Andersen’s fairy tales have been translated into some 160 languages and include The Princess and the Pea, The Ugly Duckling, and The Emperor’s New Clothes. Little known is the poem written by Andersen in 1831, entitled Formens evige Magie (The Eternal Magic of Form), which presents the Pythagorean theorem and its mathematical proof in poetic form. Polemic in nature, the poem engages with the question of form and substance in poetry—the Pythagorean theorem and its proof are used by Andersen to represent strict structural form. The talk will explore Andersen’s recollections of school mathematics, his mathematics exams, and the literary context for the poem about the Pythagorean theorem, as well as presenting an English translation of the poem with commentary.
Vignettes of Memoria, Verdad y Justicia (Memory, Truth & Justice)
Examines the linguistic landscapes and literacy practices of a public commemoration marking the 40th anniversary of the March 24, 1976, coup in Argentina. Drawing on a three-year, grant-funded research conducted across three distinct sites in Buenos Aires — a public university, the hub of a city center, and a former naval base and clandestine detention center transformed into an educational space for memory and justice, this talk illuminates the ways in which critical and multimodal literacies function spatially to evoke memories of the past while addressing contemporary justice concerns. Attendees are invited to engage with social justice issues in the United States and beyond, fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion through the advocacy of inclusive pedagogies.