Thematic Option holds annual conference
The Thematic Option Research Conference took place on Tuesday and will continue on Wednesday at the University Club in King Stoops Hall.
Steven Lamy, vice dean for academic programs and professor of international relations, gave the keynote address to introduce the event. He talked about the limitations of the current world due to our present-day globalization crisis.
“We have to be willing to do that when the situation arises,” Lamy said. “It means to stand up to hate, to stand up to violence.”
Each year since 1998, Penny Von Helmolt, the Thematic Option program director, and Richard Edinger, the student program advisor, have worked together to figure out a theme for the year’s conference. The theme of this year’s conference was “Something Must Be Done.”
“Every year, Rich and I dance in a circle, going, ‘What is the right title for this conference? What does it need to be about?’” Von Helmolt said. “No matter what the topic is, the students find creative ways to write interesting things about it.”
To do this, Von Helmolt and Edinger try to choose a topic that will resonate with students rather than professors.
“We want the students to pursue what they think is important, not what we think is important,” Edinger said.
This year, the idea of doing something to create change jumped out.
“I think a major part of it was trying to capture the sound of the zeitgeist. I think that there is a vibe out there that something must be done,” Edinger said. “We’re seeing this through a lot of movements in the world.”
This year, the majority of the freshman class will be able to vote.
“There are a lot of people who are thinking ‘Where do I belong? Will the person I vote for move the country in the direction that I think it should be?’” Edinger said. “This is the moment where there is the highest amount of energy about this.”
For both conference days, 100 students present their papers to an audience, and Von Helmolt noted how important this segment is to the image of the event.
“This is very much a personal conference about the student performance,” Von Helmolt said. “There will around 300 total people. There are a lot of people who come.”
Edinger further talked about how he feels Thematic Option works to create a diverse community that integrates the deeper relevance of ideas and their implications.
“The writing classes all have a theme, but the panel is mixed from different courses,” Edinger said.
Edinger also talked about the skills students learn, such as communicating with others in a comfortable environment of peers and faculty.
“It is a really great translatable skill to have. Most jobs ask you to talk to other people,” Edinger said.
Students such as Marianna Shakhnazaryan, a freshman majoring in international relations, agreed that Thematic Option has enhanced their academic careers.
“I really feel that I have gotten a chance to hone my writing,” Shakhnazaryan said. “I am not nervous about it because I know that the audience consists of my peers. It’s a really low stress situation. It’s people who really want to support me.”