College of Coastal Georgia professor Tony Wege wants to educate more than his students. He wants his fellow instructors as well as the community to tap into the wealth of knowledge held within the campus walls.
To do that, he successfully launched the Coastal Scholars Lecture series several years ago, offering a variety of guest lecturers throughout the school year.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel or anything with the series, but we’re opening our campus up to new ideas and new philosophies,” said Wege, interim department chair of social sciences and professor of political science, who continues to organize the lectures. “Not only are the lectures a great way for students to learn about various topics, they are also a key way for professors to express their studies and develop new interests in their students.”
Similar to what other colleges tag as a Brown Bag lecture series, the Coastal Scholars program offers students, faculty, staff and the general public a variety of topics, presented by the minds of those that study the content. And never, Wege said, are two lectures the same.
“Some lectures are about gender issues, and some lectures are about specific novels or films,” Wege said. “The goal is to keep us all learning, all the time — not just in a class setting.”
That diversity will be shown in coming weeks, as the series will play host to a wide variety of topics. At noon today, the series will revolve around workforce culture and age, focusing on how generational differences change how individuals view there time on the clock.
“This is a topic that really interested me,” he said. “When I was growing up, I was taught that to be on time for work meant you were there ten minutes early. But things have changed a lot for the current generation of employees who may view things differently.”
On Thursday, the series will be shared by professors Stephanie Conner and Rebecca Sharpe, who will present “Women and Folklore.” Their presentation will be held from noon to 12:50 p.m.
After that, a presentation from Jason Tondro will center on comics and graphic novels will be held from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m on March 26.
“We try to keep the topics evolving and different every time,” Wege said. “This isn’t just for our campus staff and students. These lectures are meant to broaden the horizon of the whole community and bring new perspectives and insights to the table.”
All lectures run about 50 minutes and typically are held around lunchtime in the Stembler Theatre on the college campus. Admission to the lectures is free and open to the public.
For more information and times of upcoming lectures, visit https://www.ccga.edu/Academics/AcademicLectures.asp.
The Brunswick News
ANNA HALL