SHERMAN, TEXAS – Dr. Katherine Elkins will present the annual A.J. Carlson Lecture on the Liberal Arts, titled “The Value of the Liberal Arts in the Age of AI”. The lecture will take place on Thursday, September 26, in Wright Campus Center, Mabee Hall.  A reception will be held at 4:30 p.m. and the lecture will begin at 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

The A.J. Carlson Lecture on the Liberal Arts is one of the most esteemed annual events sponsored by The Robert and Joyce Johnson Center for Faculty Development and Excellence in Teaching. Elkin’s presentation aims to offer a fresh perspective and stimulate discussion on the significance of the liberal arts in today’s world of artificial intelligence.

As Professor of Comparative Literature and Humanities at Kenyon College, her courses focus on natural language processing and natural language generation, as well as the ethical challenges of artificial intelligence, which holds increasing power over our daily lives. Elkins also serves as director of the Integrated Program in Humane Studies and co-director of the KDH Collaboratory. She teaches and writes about consciousness, aesthetic experience, language, and storytelling. Over the past ten years, Elkins and her collaborator, Jon Chun, have developed new ways of bringing computation and Big Data to the humanities and social sciences. Her books include Proust's 'In Search of Lost Time:' Philosophical Perspectives (Oxford UP) and The Shapes of Stories: Sentiment Analysis for Narrative (Cambridge UP). Learn more about Elkins and her work on her website.

Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, pre-professional foundations, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 44 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 50 percent of students identifying as persons of color. The residential student body of approximately 1,300 students and an expert faculty of more than 100 educators allow a 13:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. Related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA), Austin College cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. The College, founded in 1849, is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.