Humility in the Age of Self-Promotion

What does it mean to “walk humbly” in this time of billionaire entrepreneurs, reality television, social media, and Donald Trump? This October, our group will host a colloquium on the nature of humility, its benefits and costs and its role “in the age of self-promotion.” The colloquium will be held on the Michigan campus from October 20-21, and will be primarily a closed event with twenty-six individuals from within and outside the academy participating; invited guests include a philosopher who studies how students acquire values, a lawyer arguing for apologies to replace the “defend and deny” paradigm, a farmer who reflects on adaptive management to unpredictable circumstances, and an educator and writer organizing spaces to celebrate Black girlhood. On Friday evening, October 20, 2017, NY Times Op-Ed columnist Charles M. Blow will present a lecture on the topic of Donald Trump, arrogance/price, and American democracy. After the colloquium, an anthology of essays from colloquium presentations will be published. Essays will be accompanied by graphic illustrations directed by Nick Sousanis, award-winning author of Unflattening, who completed his doctoral dissertation at Columbia University in comic book format.