2013–14 Vulnerable

To be alive is to be vulnerable.  Like all living things, our existence is rich, dynamic, and wondrous, but also fragile and transitory.   Daily news of environmental change, geo-political conflict and unrest, hunger and poverty, technological transformation, and social upheaval is disseminated instantly across nations and national boundaries.  We may sometimes wonder whether there are any remaining safe havens amidst this welter of information and uncertainty.   

But our vulnerability is also a key source for our ability to identify with people unlike ourselves, our willingness to cooperate with others for greater goods, our appreciation for nature’s beauty and bounty, our gifts of love, sympathy, and creativity.    

Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade, Associate Professor of Raza Studies and Education at San Francisco State University and Director of the Educational Equity Initiative at the Institute for Sustainable Economic, Educational, and Environmental Design (ISEEED). He also teaches English at Freemont High School in East Oakland where he directs the East Oakland Step to College Program. “Note to Educators: Hope Required When Growing Roses in Concrete.”

Craig Childs, science writer and adventurer; author of Apocalyptic Planet: A Field Guide to the Future of the Earth and The Animal Dialogues: Uncommon Encounters in the Wild. “Apocalyptic Planet: A Field Guide to the Future of the Earth.”

Kenji Yoshino, Law, New York University. “The Choice of the Three Caskets: Law, Equity, and Mercy in The Merchant of Venice.”

Victoria Sweet, M.D., physician, author, and prize-winning historian Victoria Sweet relates the story of how her twenty years of clinical practice at an almshouse in San Francisco and the study of Hildegard of Bingen have shaped her views on healing and the practice of modern medicine. “God’s Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine.”

Bruce Schneier, computer security expert and writer. “Internet, Security, and Power.”