Spring 2023 Faculty Lecture Series - College of Charleston Libraries
The Spring 2023 Faculty Lecture Series
Cosponsored by the Friends of the Library and the Honors College, the Faculty Lecture Series spotlights the latest in faculty research and scholarship.
All events are free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
Adjust Vibration Intensity: The Mundane Haptics of Mobile Media
February 15 | 12:00 p.m. | Addlestone Library Rm. 227
Since the early days of virtual reality in the 1990s, haptics technologies—which artificially stimulate the sense of touch—have promised to transform and disrupt the way we use our senses to interface with computers. Thirty years later, however, complex haptics devices like VR vests and gloves have yet to see widespread adoption. Instead, we’ve seen haptics deployed ubiquitously in mobile media, where the vibrations coming from our smartphones and wearable subtly but significantly alter our habits of information interaction. David Parisi, Professor of Communication, explains the overlooked importance of our everyday encounters with mobile haptics and explores failed attempts at layering additional uses and meaning onto these vibrations.
Joseph Henrich, Human Nature, and The Secret of our Success
March 15 | 12:00 p.m. | Addlestone Library Rm. 360
Historically, human nature has been understood as the “essence” of human kind: a set of properties shared by all and only humans. But from an evolutionary point of view, it is highly unlikely that our species has an essence in this sense. This realization has led many researchers to abandon the idea of human nature all together. In contrast, Joseph Henrich’s The Secret of our Success (2016) offers a novel way to conceptualize human nature. Todd Grantham, Professor of Philosophy, will examine whether Henrich’s theory provides a more promising way to conceptualize human nature.
Things Just Got Worse! The Disruptive Effects of Transitions in Reward Context
April 19 | 12:00 p.m. | Addlestone Library Rm. 227
In daily life, transitions from favorable to unfavorable activities are ubiquitous annoyances that often lead to procrastination. For vulnerable populations, however, these transitions can occasion serious maladaptive behavior such as escape, aggression, and substance abuse. In this presentation, Chad Galuska, Professor of Psychology, will discuss his research on the disruptive effects of transitions in reward context. You will learn how research with animals has informed us of the negative effects that positive reinforcers sometimes can produce, and how to best schedule rewards to minimize these problems.