Faculty and administrators are attracted to ACTC conferences because we offer the opportunity to discuss timely issues of art and science, politics and individuals, canons of the West and the World, ethnicity, multiculturalism, and gender through the lens of thousands of years of texts and many intertwined traditions.
Another reason liberal arts faculty and administrators are drawn to our conference is the way ACTC panels are organized: no paper is more than five pages long, and we protect about half of every session for discussion. So, unlike at most conferences where Q&A is brief and rushed, at ACTC, we create opportunities for real conversation about important texts and ideas.
We also explicitly invite discussions of teaching – that lost “liberal art.” We have panels on learning communities, on how to conduct discussions, on how and why particular texts seem to be so effective, on the impact of writing and technology, and the many other efforts that programs and teachers put into making instruction more effective and more intellectually alive for our students. In short, we are about the special relationship forged by teachers and students over a good book.
We also e have frequently had student panels so that we get to see the effects of our instruction and or our students’ reading and hard work.
And, we invite some of the most thoughtful, important voices in liberal education to be our plenary speakers. These are speakers who, conversant with research and theory, are nevertheless able to talk about texts, teaching, programs, and the triumphs and struggles of maintaining sound liberal, core text, education in today’s higher education milieu.
You can see how this all has come together in our previous conferences by selecting the previous annual conference agendas link to the left, but below is a list of plenary speakers, alphabetically arranged by name, followed by their discipline, institution, and the year of their address to ACTC.
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Seemee Ali, Great Ideas, Carthage College, 2015- Thomas Barfield, Anthropology, Boston University, 1998
- Patricia Martinez Barrios, Education, Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar, Colombia, 2006
- James Beall, St. John's College, 2004
- David Bevington, English, University of Chicago, 1998
- Howard Bloch, Humanities, Yale University, 2011
- Joseph Bottum, First Things, 2008
- Eva Brann, Dean, St. John’s College, 1999
- Edwin Burrows, History, Brooklyn College, 2000
- Paul Cantor, English, University of Virginia, 2007
- Jocelyn Chadwick, University of North Texas, 1996
- J. Edward Chamberlain, English and Comparative Literature, University of Toronto, 2005
- Cheug Chan Fai, Philosophy and General Education, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010
- Rachel Chung, University Committee on Asia and the Middle East, Columbia University, 2009
- John Churchill, Secretary, Phi Beta Kappa Society, 2013
- Norman M. Bradburn, Senior Fellow, University of Chicago, 2014
- Louise Cowan, Braniff Graduate School, University of Dallas, 1997
- Wm. Theodore de Bary, East Asian Languages and Culture, Columbia University, 2008
- David Depew, Communications, University of Iowa, 2005
- Jennifer Donnelly, Terra Foundation for American Art, Paris, 2015
- Kathy Eden, English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University, 2002
- Jean Bethke Elshtain, Divinity School, University of Chicago, 2001
- Peter Emberley, Carleton University, 1995
- J. Peter Euben, Political Science, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1999
- Constantin Fasolt, History, University of Chicago, 1996
- Timothy Fuller, Political Science, Colorado College, 2000
- Joanne V. Gabbin, James Madison University, 2007
- R. Kirby Godsey, President, Mercer University, 2003
- Judith Grabiner, Mathematics, Pitzer College, 2015
- Gerald Graff, English, University of Chicago, 1997
- Robert Gurval, Classics, University of California, Los Angeles, 2012
- Ann Hartle, Philosophy, Emory University, 2016
- Julia Hejduk, Classics, Baylor University, 2014
- Thomas S. Hibbs, Dean of the Honors College, Baylor University, 2011
- Jean and Robert Hollander, Poet and Professor Emeritus, Princeton University
- Joyce Ann Joyce, African American Studies, Temple University, 2001
- Richard Kamber, President of ACTC, Philosophy, The College of New Jersey, 2009-present
- Bruce Kimball, Education, University of Rochester, 2007
- Peter Augustine Lawler, Government, Berry College, 2016
- Anne Leavitt, Liberal Studies and Philosophy, Vancouver Island University, 2008
- Timothy Lenoir, History and Philosophy of Science, Stanford University, 1998
- George Lucas, Philosophy, U.S. Naval Academy, 2002
- Michael Mahoney, History of Science, Princeton University, 2001
- Lynn Margulis, Geosciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2010
- Wilfred M. McClay, Humanities, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 2009
- Victoria Mora, Vice President, St. John's College, 2013
- Athanasios Moulakis, Humanities Program, University of Colorado, 2000
- Dennis O’Brien, Middlebury College, 1997
- Robert O'Meally, English, Columbia University, 2004
- Clifford Orwin, Political Science, University of Toronto, 2002
- Austin Quigley, Dean, Columbia College, Columbia University 2005
- Hugh R. Page, Jr., Theology & Africana Studies, University of Notre Dame, 2006
- Peter Pesic, Director of the Science Institute, St. John's College, 2016
- Ravi Ravindra, Comparative Religion, Philosophy & Physics, Dalhousie University, 2013
- Joan Richards, Mathematics, Brown University, 1999
- Christopher Ricks, English, Boston University, 2000
- Sheldon Rothblatt, English, University of California, Berkeley, 2006
- Mark Schwehn, Humanities, Valparaiso University, 2006
- Dorian Sagan, Science Writer; 2010
- Scott Samuelson, Philosophy, Kirkwood Community College, 2015
- John Seery, Political Theory, Pomona College, 2012
- Roger Shattuck, English, Boston University, 1997
- Earl Shorris, originator Clemente Courses, 2003
- Julius Sigler, Physics, Lynchburg College, 1996
- Phillip R. Sloan, Past President ACTC, University of Notre Dame, 1995 and 2003-2008
- Theophus ‘Thee’ Smith, Religion, Emory University, 2008
- Miguel Tamen, Literary Theory, University of Lisbon, 2016
- Liba Taub, Curator and Director of Whipple Museum of the History of Science, University of Cambridge, 2012
- David Tracy, Professor Emeritus of Catholic Studies, Theology and Philosophy of Religions, University of Chicago, 2010
- Steve Turley, Brigham Young University, 2009
- Richard Velkley, Philosophy, Tulane University, 2012
- Grant Venerable, Provost, Lincoln University, 2009
- Donald Phillip Verene, Philosophy, Emory University, 2003
- Mary Ann Freese Witt, Comparative Literature, North Carolina State, 1996
- Paul Woodruff, Plan II Honors, University of Texas at Austin, 2004
- Stephen Zelnick, Past President of ACTC, English and Intellectual Heritage, Temple University,1994-2002
- Catherine Zuckert, Government, University of Notre Dame, 1999