CSJ CENTER FOR RECONCILIATION AND JUSTICE | The digital revolution has encroached on health care, privacy, artistic endeavors, the news media and, with drones, warfare. It feels like technology’s role in human lives is reaching a tipping point: Is it a boon to humankind or is it a peril? This year’s CSJ Symposium, presented by the CSJ Center for Reconciliation and Justice, examines the interplay of technology and ethics in human endeavors. All sessions are free and open to the public.
“Technology presents us with such a multifaceted landscape,” said MaryAnne Huepper, C.S.J., associate director of the CSJ Center. “This year our symposium brings together the expertise and creativity of faculty, staff, students, alums and guest presenters across multiple disciplines to help us navigate a complex terrain. The CSJ Center is excited to bring you along for the journey.”
The CSJ Center has sponsored an annual symposium since 2013, addressing a wide range of topics from human trafficking to homelessness. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange has been part of the LMU community since the merger of Loyola University and Marymount College and, since that time, around one third of the sisters have participated in the LMU community as administrators, staff, faculty and/or students/ alums, giving to and gaining from that wonderful relationship.
The 2020 symposium will begin Monday, Feb. 3, with a kickoff reception, including special remarks by Sister Huepper in the Dunning Courtyard of the Burns Fine Arts Center. There will also be a screening of “Eye in the Sky” in the Life Sciences Building auditorium, followed by a panel discussion on drone warfare led by Brian Michael Reedy, S.J., assistant professor of philosophy at LMU.
The symposium takes off in earnest on Tuesday through Thursday in various venues on the LMU campus. The full schedule is here.
Among the featured presentations on Tuesday, Feb. 4, President Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D., will share his insights and thoughts in a presentation titled “Emerging Sound Technology and Its Creative Possibilities – and Responsibilities.” The Hannon Library will host a presentation of “Printing Press to Smart Phones: Encounters with Information Technologies Over Time.” A presentation of “Justice and Spirituality on Screen: Technology and the Human Imagination” will take place in the Playa Vista Campus.
On Wednesday, Feb. 5, among the offerings will be: “The Benefits and Tensions Related to Using Technology to Promote Health and Well-Being” featuring a panel of LMU professors; a discussion of “The Ethics Behind Drone Warfare”; and a discussion on “Fake News Is Hijacking American Politics” with Carol Costello, veteran CNN anchor, journalism lecturer at LMU and LMU first lady, with Brian Stelter, chief media correspondent and anchor of “Reliable Sources” for CNN.
Thursday’s symposium highlights include: “Imagining a Greater Justice,” a discussion with Scott Wood, emeritus professor of LMU Loyola Law School; Susan Scheibler, associate professor in LMU School of Film and Television, will lead a panel discussion of “Ethics, Empathy and Immersive Storytelling” in the McIntosh Center in University Hall; and Tara Pixley will lead a panel that will examine “Political News Narratives in a Populist America” in the Von der Ahe Family Suite in the William H. Hannon Library.
