MIDDLEBURY, Vt. ? From Tuesday, April 17, through Friday, April 20, the Middlebury College Teacher Education Program will host a symposium titled “Pursuing Knowledge Without Boundaries: Liberal Arts and the Martial Art of Aikido.” The symposium will include lectures, a panel discussion and Aikido classes, and will examine the intersections between the liberal arts and the martial art of Aikido. All events are free and open to the public.

On Tuesday, April 17, the symposium will begin with a lecture and demonstration by Middlebury College Assistant Professor of Education Jonathan Miller-Lane. The talk, titled “Embodied Discussion: The Case for Aikido,” will take place at 4:30 p.m. in Dana Auditorium located in Sunderland Language Center on College Street (Route 125).

Donald Levine, a professor of sociology at the University of Chicago and author of “Powers of the Mind: The Reinvention of Liberal Learning in America” (2006), will deliver the keynote address on Wednesday, April 18, at 4:30 p.m. The lecture, titled “The Liberal Arts and the Martial Arts Reconsidered,” will take place in Dana Auditorium. Later that evening, from 7-8:30 p.m., Levine, a 2nd degree Aikido black belt, will lead an Aikido class at Blue Heron Aikido, located in the Town of Middlebury Municipal Building on South Main Street (Route 30).

On Thursday, April 19, Kimberly Richardson, a 6th degree Aikido black belt and chief instructor at Two Cranes Aikido in Seattle, will deliver a lecture titled, “Martial Art as Spiritual Practice” at 4:30 p.m. in Dana Auditorium. Richardson, also an adjunct professor at Antioch College in Seattle, will lead an Aikido class that evening from 7-8:30 p.m. at Blue Heron Aikido.

A panel discussion on “Aikido and Life at Middlebury College” will take place on Friday, April 20, at 12:15 p.m. in Ross B11, located in Ross Commons off College Street (Route 125). Panelists include Middlebury College Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology Linda White and Visiting Instructor in Religion Justin Stearns, both of whom are Aikido black belts, and Middlebury College junior Kristen Voorhees, sophomore Jaime Lam, and first-year students Rebecca Chin and Will Cunningham. 

For more information, contact Middlebury College Assistant Professor of Education Jonathan Miller-Lane at 802-443-3459 or jmillerl@middlebury.edu.
 
To follow is a schedule of events:

Middlebury College Symposium
“Pursuing Knowledge Without Boundaries: Liberal Arts and the Martial Art of Aikido”
April 17-20

Tuesday, April 17
4:30 p.m.
Lecture: “Embodied Discussion: The Case for Aikido”
Jonathan Miller-Lane, assistant professor of education at Middlebury College, will introduce the martial art of Aikido with a lecture and demonstration.
Dana Auditorium, located in Sunderland Language Center on College Street (Route 125)

Wednesday, April 18
4:30 p.m.
Keynote Address: “The Liberal Arts and the Martial Arts Reconsidered”



Donald Levine, a professor of sociology at the University of Chicago and author of “Powers of the Mind: The Reinvention of Liberal Learning in America” (2006), will deliver the keynote address for the symposium.
Dana Auditorium, located in Sunderland Language Center on College Street (Route 125)

7-8:30 p.m.
Aikido Class



Donald Levine, a 2nd degree Aikido black belt, will lead a class at Blue Heron Aikido.
Blue Heron Aikido, located in the Town of Middlebury Municipal Building on South Main Street (Route 30)

Thursday, April 19
4:30 p.m.
Lecture: “Martial Art as Spiritual Practice”



Kimberly Richardson, a 6th degree Aikido black belt and chief instructor of Two Cranes Aikido in Seattle, as well as an adjunct professor at Antioch College in Seattle, will lecture on “Martial Art as a Spiritual Practice.”
Dana Auditorium, located in Sunderland Language Center on College Street (Route 125)

7-8:30 p.m.
Aikido Class



Kimberly Richardson, a 6th degree Aikido black belt and chief instructor of Two Cranes Aikido in Seattle, will lead a class at Blue Heron Aikido.
Blue Heron Aikido, located in the Town of Middlebury Municipal Building on South Main Street (Route 30)

Friday, April 20
12:15 p.m.
Panel Discussion: “Aikido and Life at Middlebury College”

Panelists: Middlebury College Visiting Assistant Professor of  Anthropology Linda White, Visiting Instructor in Religion Justin Stearns, and Middlebury College students Kristen Voorhees, Jaime Lam, Rebecca Chin and Will Cunningham. 
Ross B11, located in Ross Commons off College Street (Route 125)

All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Middlebury College Assistant Professor of Education Jonathan Miller-Lane at 802-443-3459 or jmillerl@middlebury.edu.