Lecture
Lunch & Learn Colloquium: Culture, Justice, and University Creeds with Dr. Eric Thomas Weber
Posted by Chris Hybels
for College of Education and Human Development
Join us for a lunch and learn colloquium with Dr. Eric Thomas Weber (University of Kentucky) on his book A Culture of Justice, which examines how culture itself can enable or inhibit the pursuit of justice. Weber argues that we share a public obligation to build and sustain a culture of justice where people are not diminished by stigmatization, poverty, racism, or the erosion of self-respect that comes from threats conveyed through public speech and cultivated hatred. Drawing on the idea that democracy is a way of life rather than a set of political mechanisms, Weber traces the implications for policy and practice across education, free speech, and the contested terrain often labeled "political correctness."
In this session, Dr. Weber will extend these ideas to his recent work on university creeds, exploring the ethical questions institutions face when articulating shared values and commitments. What obligations do universities take on when they adopt a creed? Who gets to shape it, and what happens when institutional language meets lived campus culture? This is a timely conversation for anyone thinking about the relationship between stated institutional values and the pursuit of justice in practice.
Register to attend
Friday, Oct. 16, 2026
noon to 1:30 p.m.
2510
Sangren Hall
Kalamazoo, MI 49008 US