`Innovator' to lecture on Sept. 11 response
SHEILA EGTS
News Writer
Martha Nussbaum, Ernst Freund Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago, will speak on "Patriotism and Compassion" tonight at 8 p.m. in the Saint Mary's O'Laughlin Auditorium. It will address the response to the events of Sept. 11.
Although Nussbaum is on leave for the 2001-2002 academic year and is not accepting visiting lecturing engagements, she is making an exception to visit Saint Mary's as the keynote speaker for the College's Play of the Mind conference.
"I've been intending to come to Saint Mary's for a number of years, and have had various invitations there that I've been unable to accept for one reason or another," said Nussbaum. "Meanwhile, I've been to Notre Dame lots of times. I thought it was high time that I focused on Saint Mary's."
Nussbaum's active work in the public arena has made her America's most prominent female philosopher. Addressing audiences at an all-women's college hits home for Nussbaum, who attended an all-women's high school and an all-women's college for two years.
"I think that single-sex education was then and still is a very important option for women. It allows women to develop all their abilities freely, without worrying about whether men will like the way they are behaving," she said.
Nussbaum was able to express her thoughts without anxiety in school and quickly gained a reputation that has stuck with her to the present day.
"My friends [in school] used to tease me by calling me Artha Marguer, meaning Martha the Arguer. It's been many years since then, but I haven't stopped talking and arguing," said Nussbaum about the early beginnings of her love of philosophical debate.
Her strong background served Nussbaum well as she was most recently acknowledged as one of the nation's premier public intellectuals. In December, Time magazine named her one of the seven Next Wave Innovators, who are significant thinkers shaping the early years of the 21st century.
She continually travels and engages in projects fostering human development around the world, while keeping up a demanding schedule as teacher, scholar and writer.
Patrick White, director of the Center for Academic Innovation, organized the Play of the Mind with others at Saint Mary's and considers Nussbaum an ideal keynote speaker for the conference.
"She embodies an understanding of the intellectual as a leader engaged in the work of making a difference in the world, a role we seek to encourage in the Play of the Mind," said White.
Nussbaum's keynote address will kick off the Play of the Mind, which continues until Sunday.
All News Stories for Thursday, January 24, 2002
