JACKSON, Tenn. — April 4, 2011 — The welfare of children in communities will be the topic for the next Town and Gown series at Union University 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’s 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 Union University Germantown in room 204.
The schedule of lectures for the class is as follows:
- April 4, 6:30 p.m., “Children and Communities: Imagining a Just and Caring Future,” by Poe; 8 p.m., “Children and the Arts,” by Nigel Goodwin, of Genesis Arts Trust in the United Kingdom.
- April 11, 6:30 p.m., “The State of the Child in Tennessee,” by Linda O’Neal, director of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth; 8 p.m., “The Status and Coordination of Children’s Mental Health Care in Tennessee,” by Dustin Keller, director of the Council on Children’s Mental Health for the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth.
- April 18, 6:30 p.m., “Photography: Envisioning Opportunity,” by Jim Veneman, assistant professor of communication arts at Union; 8 p.m., “The Power of Imagination,” by Hal Poe, the Charles Colson Professor of Faith and Culture at Union.
- April 25, 6:30 p.m., “Children and Story: Communities, Identities and History,” by David Thomas, professor of history at Union, and Melissa Moore, professional librarian at Union; 8 p.m., “Does It Really Take a Whole Village: The Impact of Informal Supports and Resources in the Community,” 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, “Imagining a Just and Caring Future.”
For more information, contact Poe at mpoe@uu.edu or (731) 661-5397.