SmartTalks Lecture Series at the Morris Museum Starting March 25

The Morris Museum announces an innovative, new programming option this spring. SmartTalks will present scholars and authors who are experts in their field–to broaden our horizons and challenge conventional wisdom. Exploring the intersections between the arts and humanities, plus science and technology, this lecture series brings some unusual and insightful thinkers to illuminate our daily lives with new perspectives. Lively discussions will follow each SmartTalk.

“We have some truly illustrious and unusual thinkers joining us at the Museum this spring for a speaker series that is really unlike any other in the area,” states Brett Wellman Messenger, Curator of Public Programs for the Morris Museum. “Drawing on the wealth of scholars, thinkers, and doers in New Jersey and the Tri-state area; SmartTalks will further establish the Morris Museum as THE place where great conversations are sparked in our community. I am incredibly excited to embark on this journey of discovery along with our audiences!”

The full series includes eight lectures on Monday and Tuesday afternoons at 2:30PM.

Being-with Smartphones
Monday, March 25, 2019, 2:30PM

This lecture explores a connection between the philosophy of technology and the philosophy of the self. Tiger Roholt offers a novel approach to understanding and assessing the impact of smartphone-use in small groups. By drawing upon the existentialist claim that an individual creates her own identity or self, and the Heideggerian phenomenon of being-with, Roholt argues that smartphone-use fractures sociality in ways that are detrimental to individual self-creation.

Speaker: Tiger Roholt is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Montclair State University.

Mathematics + Art: A Cultural History
Tuesday, April 2, 2019, 2:30PM

Explore a cultural history of mathematics and art, from antiquity to the present. Mathematicians and artists have long been on a quest to understand the physical world they see before them and the abstract objects they know by thought alone. Mathematics + Art demonstrates how mathematical ideas are embodied in the visual arts and will enlighten all who are interested in the complex intellectual pursuits, personalities, and cultural settings that connect these vast disciplines.

Speaker: Lynn Gamwell is a lecturer in the history of art, science, and mathematics at the School of Visual Arts in New York.

From Classical to Rock: What Attracts us to the Music we Love
Monday, April 8, 2019, 2:30PM

Writer and radio commentator and lover of music of all kinds, William Berger asks the question, why do we listen to what we listen to, why we like what we like? From classical to rock, Berger examines how one’s unique musical tastes are formed.

Speaker: Will Berger is a writer, producer, and on-air commentator with host Mary Jo Heath at the Metropolitan Opera Radio in New York City.

LOL, A Philosophical Look at Comedy
Tuesday, April 16, 2019, 2:30PM

Chuckle. Chortle. Snicker. Cackle. Guffaw. Laughter. We usually recognize comedy by the laughter which accompanies it, but is that all there is to it? What is the true nature of comedy? Since the formal introduction by the ancient Greeks, comedy has been and continues to be more than just laughs. It can be explored from a philosophical perspective and shed light on this aspect of the human condition. In this session, participants will take this jovial phenomenon seriously, one laugh at a time.

Speaker: Brandyn Heppard is an assistant professor of philosophy at Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey & Co-Director of RVCC’s Women’s Center.

The Art and Science of Creating a Crossword Puzzle
Monday, April 22, 2019, 2:30PM

Learn the process of creating a crossword and see a demonstration of how it is done, from theme development and grid creation to writing clues.

Speaker: Tony Orbach is a construction project manager, saxophonist and crossword puzzle constructor who has had crossword puzzles published in The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Wall Street Journal.

Underground: A Human History of the Worlds Beneath Our Feet
Monday, April 29, 2019, 2:30PM

Hear a panoramic investigation of the subterranean landscape, from sacred caves and derelict subway stations to nuclear bunkers and ancient underground cities—an exploration of the history, science, architecture, and mythology of the worlds beneath our feet.

Speaker: Will Hunt is a visiting scholar at the NYU Institute for Public Knowledge. His writing, photography, and audio storytelling have appeared in The Economist, The Atavist, The Paris Review Daily, Discover, Men’s Journal, Audible Originals, and Outside, among other places.

Using Artificial Intelligence for Robust Personalized Learning of Science
Monday, May 6, 2019, 2:30PM

An innovator in developing new technology for use in science education, Dr. Janice Gobert introduces how advances in artificial intelligence can revolutionize science education.

Speaker: Dr. Janice Gobert received her PhD from the University of Toronto (1994) in Cognitive Science and her Masters from McGill University, also in Cognitive Science. Her specialty is in technology-based with visualizations and simulations in scientific domains.

• Museum Members: $80
• Non-Members $120

or call 973.971.3721.