JACKSON, Tenn. — April 4, 2011 — The welfare of children in communities will be the topic for the next Town and Gown series at 51社区 on Monday nights April 4-May 2.
The Town and Gown series is an opportunity for community members interested in various topics to attend lectures and participate in discussions in a classroom setting. The classes are free and open to the public.
Lectures in this Town and Gown installment will examine the well-being of children within the context of communities and will explore the effects of social forces that hinder that well-being. Mary Anne Poe, professor of social work and director of Union鈥檚 Center for Just and Caring Communities, said the course material would come from a viewpoint of imagining a future that is just and caring for all children.
Each class will begin at 6:30 p.m. in Providence Hall room 160 and will consist of two lectures, with the exception of the final evening. The class will also be simulcast at 51社区 Germantown in room 204.
The schedule of lectures for the class is as follows:
- April 4, 6:30 p.m., 鈥淐hildren and Communities: Imagining a Just and Caring Future,鈥� by Poe; 8 p.m., 鈥淐hildren and the Arts,鈥� by Nigel Goodwin, of Genesis Arts Trust in the United Kingdom.
- April 11, 6:30 p.m., 鈥淭he State of the Child in Tennessee,鈥� by Linda O鈥橬eal, director of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth; 8 p.m., 鈥淭he Status and Coordination of Children鈥檚 Mental Health Care in Tennessee,鈥� by Dustin Keller, director of the Council on Children鈥檚 Mental Health for the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth.
- April 18, 6:30 p.m., 鈥淧hotography: Envisioning Opportunity,鈥� by Jim Veneman, assistant professor of communication arts at Union; 8 p.m., 鈥淭he Power of Imagination,鈥� by Hal Poe, the Charles Colson Professor of Faith and Culture at Union.
- April 25, 6:30 p.m., 鈥淐hildren and Story: Communities, Identities and History,鈥� by David Thomas, professor of history at Union, and Melissa Moore, professional librarian at Union; 8 p.m., 鈥淒oes It Really Take a Whole Village: The Impact of Informal Supports and Resources in the Community,鈥� by Kimberly Morris, Master of Social Work supervisory specialist for the Tennessee Center for Child Welfare, northwest region.
- May 2, 6:30 p.m., a panel presentation on the topic, 鈥淚magining a Just and Caring Future.鈥�
For more information, contact Poe at mpoe@uu.edu or (731) 661-5397.