Faculty member shares expertise with community through Learning Café

No matter if it is the Tomato Sandwich Supper or the annual "Haunts and Harvest: An Evening of Appalachian Ghost Stories," the Fannin County community supports events at the University of North Georgia's (UNG) Blue Ridge Campus. This fall, community members expanded their knowledge by participating in another event.

On Oct. 11, the Blue Ridge Campus hosted its first Learning Café, a free lecture series featuring UNG faculty who will share their expertise, said Sandy Ott, executive director of the Blue Ridge Campus.

"It's a brand-new event we are offering to the community," Ott said, explaining community members consistently seek partnerships with UNG. "The community asked us to start a lecture series, therefore, we did."

As the idea formed, Ott needed a speaker to launch the program. Dr. Robert Scott, assistant professor of philosophy at UNG, had the answer. Scott asked Dr. Bruce Ellis Benson, a senior research fellow at the Logos Institute at the University of St. Andrews, to open the session as Benson was already planning to visit UNG in October.

Benson presented the topic of "philosophy and jazz" at 7 p.m. Oct. 11, at Blue Ridge Community Theater at 2591 E. First St. in Blue Ridge.

"He inspired me to become a philosophy major," Scott said of Benson, his favorite professor from his undergraduate days at Wheaton College. "I thought he would be a good speaker to have because he speaks clearly and is enthusiastic about philosophy."

Scott said Benson discussed the correlation between jazz and philosophy as well as the research area of phenomenology, which is the study of human consciousness and self-awareness as a starting point for philosophy.

"I hope students come away with a sense of what phenomenology is and how philosophy can deepen our understanding of many different subjects, including jazz, and I hope some students were motivated by the talk to sign up for a philosophy class (or classes) at UNG," Scott said. "I hope the community members enjoyed the talk and the casual 'café' atmosphere, and that they gained a new perspective on the link between philosophy and the arts."

Following Benson will be Dr. Barry Whittemore, lecturer of history at UNG. Whittemore will speak on the Blue Ridge Campus about the Civil War in the Appalachian Mountains in November.

"I'm paying special attention to using as many examples from Fannin County and the Appalachian area," Whittemore said. "For example, about one-fourth of the Fannin County enlisted soldiers in the Confederate Army deserted, and in some units as much as 50 percent."

Whittemore explained they deserted because they were farmers who needed to return home to work their land. They were also concerned with local affairs and not the politics happening elsewhere. Whittemore hopes his presentation will shed light on the true history of the Appalachian community.

After November, Ott said the Learning Café will break for December and January. The free seminars will resume in the spring with Dr. Nathan Price, assistant professor of political science and international affairs, conducting a session on politics.

Ott's hopes are high for the new series.

"There is such an interest from the community," she said. "They want to learn more and be part of the campus because they are invested in us."

Their contributions to the Blue Ridge Campus are apparent in the number of community members who attend and support UNG activities, such as the Haunts and Harvest event. The fundraiser will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 25 in the Blue Ridge Community Theater. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Proceeds will support Blue Ridge scholarships.