LearnSpeakAct is a collaborative space for U-M faculty and graduate students to interpret, historicize, explain, and discuss our current moment. Using the tools of Liberal Arts scholarship, this blog asks the U-M community to analyze tensions that divide our campus, nation, and world. Drawing on the expertise of scholars working in a range of fields, we mobilize an intellectual community committed to the creation of more diverse and inclusive learning environments. What these terms mean, and how to achieve the goals they represent are sites of debate. Hence this blog is also an exercise in academic freedom and reflects our commitment to the democratic exchange of knowledge.
What can the liberal arts offer in times of cultural turmoil? How can scholars make space for dialogue across disciplinary divides? How can institutional spaces nurture the intellects of students with very different backgrounds and learning goals? We’ve developed this blog to address these questions and many, many more as we find ourselves struggling to learn, speak, and act in the contemporary university.