There will be three colloquia held this year during Interterm. A pair of speakers will participate in each colloquium and throughout the lecture, while additional speakers will be invited to join in on the debate.
Each pair will have divergent approaches to a common topic of societal concern. Potential topics that are currently being discussed include immigration, public education, human rights, U.S. politics, the environment and foreign policy-particularly in the Middle East.
"The pairs will have divergent approaches so that students really have to explore the ins and outs of an issue and think critically about their stance on it," said Interterm Colloquium Coordinator Neltja Brewster.
Two of the Interterm colloquia will be funded by gifts from alumni Michael L. Keiser '67 and Andrew Cader '81, and the third colloquium will be funded through The Victor S. Johnson Lecture Fund. "The generous gifts received from these donors will support the Interterm Colloquium program for the next several years," said Robyn Piggott, Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations.
Faculty, students and alumni are all encouraged to suggest both speakers and topics. "[President Marx] wants to ensure that the colloquia cover a broad range of topics," said Brewster. "He is also keen to promote the active engagement of and collaboration between students and faculty-and perhaps even alumni-in developing the colloquia."
In order to achieve active engagement in future years, there will be an open invitation for Interterm colloquium proposals from the campus community each spring. "The College Council, a body whose purview includes extracurricular student and faculty collaboration and non-credit bearing programs that are of interest to the campus community, will then discuss the proposals," said Brewster.
During the summer, Brewster sent out a campus-wide e-mail soliciting suggestions on topics and speakers. "We want the colloquia to cover a broad range of topics and address issues that have captured our students' attention each year," she wrote.
Brewster discussed the initial selection process from the student suggestions. "From the responses, I began narrowing down the list of possible topics. I met individually with professors asking for their feedback," explained Brewster. "With the start of the academic year, I also hope to meet with some of the student groups including the student government."
Brewster discussed how participation in the Interterm colloquia would improve the Interterm experience for those remaining on campus between semesters. "January Interterm seems an ideal time to bring together students, faculty, alumni and visitors to discuss topics of current and pressing interest to our society, because students have the time to become completely immersed in an issue," said Brewster. "The colloquium program will provide students with a unique opportunity to engage with prominent scholars and policy experts to critically examine a topic in-depth."
Alumni are invited to participate in this new Interterm colloquium program by providing suggestions of topics and speakers. "The campus always welcomes alumni. Amherst has an active alumni community that is willing to assist and help. I think especially for the students, it is always great to see alumni making a positive impact on issues of societal concern," said Brewster.
In order to encourage in-depth discussion, each colloquium will be limited to a number of participants. Participation in the new Interterm colloquia program will consequently be on a first-come, first-served basis.
Brewster encourages students to contact her with their suggestions. "I truly believe that without student input, the colloquia will not be successful," she said. "So I encourage students who may be interested or who would like to help, to please contact me."