VGCC faculty present perspectives on water
Vance-Granville Community College’s Arts and Sciences division recently conducted a lecture series on the theme of water. During the fall semester, faculty members from various departments within the division were invited to make presentations, open to the entire college, applying their particular fields of expertise to the subject.
The series kicked off with presentations by two Biology instructors, Dr. Dan Settles and Dr. Kambiz Tahmaseb, entitled “Water: the Essence of Life.” Settles focused on aquaponics, which can be used to grow food using less water than in traditional agriculture. He encouraged students to “think about where your food comes from and how water use is related to your food.” Tahmaseb focused on water and energy, including hydroelectricity and emerging water battery technologies. “Water is a simple molecule that is necessary for life and it’s also the key to the future of our way of life through energy,” he said.
The second lecture, “Art and Social Problems as Seen Through Water Woes,” started with Sociology instructor and VGCC alumnus Leslie Hurt discussing conflict theory in the context of water resources, poverty and discontent. “There are over a billion people worldwide without access to safe, clean water,” Hurt reported. Next, art instructor Isaac Talley demonstrated how artists in different cultures throughout history have depicted and used water. Examples included Renaissance masterworks like Verrocchio’s “The Baptism of Christ” and Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa,” the destructive force of water in Hokusai’s “The Great Wave at Kanagawa” and modern art like Haacke’s “Condensation Cube.”
“Water in Literature and Culture” featured contributions from English instructors Maureen Walters, Bridget Bell, and Joellen Craft, as well as Spanish instructors Margaret Chaves and Rebecca Stewart. The English instructors reflected on some of their favorite poems and short stories that feature water as a setting or as a symbol. Chaves and Stewart, meanwhile, discussed the use of water in Latin American society dating back to ancient Mayan, Aztec and Inca civilizations.
Finally, the series ended with a focus on water from two more social science perspectives. Dr. Natasha Thompson, a History instructor, lectured on sewage, sanitation and the quest for clean water throughout human history, from ancient Rome and India to the present. Andrew Beal, an adjunct instructor of political science, focused on the future, including the prospect of so-called “water wars” within and among nations, and the “right to water.”
VGCC Biology instructor Button Brady, who coordinated the series, declared it “wildly successful.” She said that this was not the first time the division had held a lecture series on a particular theme chosen by the faculty, and she hoped it would not be the last. “A series like this represents what the Arts and Sciences division is supposed to do, which is to integrate the various disciplines through collaboration among the faculty,” Brady said. “That’s an important part of the college experience.”
Brady added that the various lectures had prompted many follow-up discussions by her Microbiology students, and both students and fellow educators enjoyed being able to learn from instructors they might not see regularly.
Above: VGCC Sociology instructor Leslie Hurt, a Creedmoor resident, lectures on social problems related to water. (VGCC photo)
Click here for more photos from the lecture series on the VGCC Facebook page .
