Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences is committed to leading the conversation in our community on issues of humanity, unity, and justice through our annual Engaging the World (ETW) event series. Since 2020, this series has focused on topics such as environmental justice, ethnic studies, health equity, gender and sexuality, and, most recently, the environment and building resilient futures. These interdisciplinary, campus-wide conversations are intended to promote thoughtful dialogue, mindful reflection, social tolerance, awareness, respect, peace, and kindness. The 2026 – 2027 theme is Engaging the World: People and Communities in Motion, and aims to promote informed, sustained, and enriching dialogues through an in-depth exploration of how social, cultural, political, and environmental structures both shape and are shaped by people and communities in motion.
In this instance, “motion” will take on numerous interpretations, including physical displacement, environmental change, bodies in motion, and thoughts and ideas that spur change. As such, there are a diverse number of events scheduled for the semester, including panels, film screenings, dance performances, and visits by researchers, artists, and authors.
“For me, as a social scientist, this theme evokes mobility… I think about the process of individual-level decision making that motivates movement or stasis and the group-level factors that shape these choices,” says Dr. Karen Snedker, Associate Dean for Student and Faculty Advancement and the chair of this year’s ETW series. Her forthcoming book addresses this theme, documenting how people experiencing homelessness create self-governing communities.
This year’s ETW keynote speaker will be novelist and poet Javier Zamora on Wednesday, September 30, at 7 p.m. in Musco Center for the Arts. Zamora will be discussing his memoir Solito, which chronicles his 3,000-mile journey at just nine years old from El Salvador to the United States. Javier Zamora has gone on to win several awards for his memoir, including a National Book Award and the LA Times Christopher Ishwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose, and continues to advocate for undocumented poets and people of color.
Other upcoming events will include a panel on homelessness in Southern California (Sept. 9), a talk with Nobel Peace Laureate and Chapman Presidential Fellow Nadia Murad (Oct. 28) and a dance showcase featuring Chapman students and guest artist Miya Hisaka (Dec. 5). Along with the series of scheduled events, there will be several Freshman Foundation Courses (FFC), which will align thematically with this year’s ETW. Subject matter ranges from the intersection of environment, politics, and society to ethical matters and courses that analyze film and other artistic expressions.
“I think we have a wonderful schedule of diverse events for members of the university community to enjoy and learn from,” Snedker concludes, “I encourage everyone… to attend at least one event (hopefully more) not because they have to, but because they will be enriched by the experience of engaging in these important conversations.”
For the full list of ETW: Leading the Conversation events, click here!
