UALR’s Department of Philosophy and Liberal Studies launches a three-part lecture series titled Truth, Marginalization, and the Other beginning Friday. The series focuses on giving a voice to the unheard in society.

The “First Friday Philosophy Forums” will be offered from noon to 1 p.m. on the first Friday in February, March, and April at the Donaghey Student Center. The lectures are free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.

“These talks are important to the community because they will shed light on why the voices of marginalized groups, such as women and immigrants, are crucial to understanding our society,” said Dr. Jan Thomas, who chairs the department. “We will explore what we can learn from hate crimes and how using race, gender, and sexual orientation to identify groups is conceptually bankrupt.”

Dr. Kelsey Wood, professor of philosophy at UALR, will discuss “The Mystery of Plato’s Parmenides” on Feb. 2, addressing how the Greeks pursued truth through dialogue with individuals instead of through the solitary act of gathering facts. Wood is author of Troubling Play: Meaning and Entity in Plato’s Parmenides.

On March 2, Dr. Phil Jenkins will present Anxiety and Knowledge: The Role of Emotion in Standpoint Epistemology.

Dr. Tina Fernandes Botts, visiting instructor of philosophy at Hendrix College concludes the series with her lecture, Separate But Equal Revisited: The Case of Same-Sex Marriage.

For information on this lecture series, contact the UALR Department of Philosophy and Liberal Studies at (501) 569-3312 or e-mail Jenkins at pwjenkins@ualr.edu.