 All of them have designed the one question that they submitted to us in advance. They all know what their own question is and they've set it up and then they hit it out of the park. All of their peers will have to respond to the same question on the plot. We will start to this round with Dr. Swinkie from English and we have a question from Dr. Swinkie. Everybody, whether through natural disasters, infectious pandemics, global warfare or zombie outbreaks, cultural representations of apocalypse involve violence. In these post-apocalyptic worlds, even people committed to non-violence find themselves forced into inherently violent situations, whether literal or figurative. What is a violent aspect of your discipline and how might your discipline's relation to violence help to rebuild civilization? One minute. I didn't realize I was going first. I didn't realize I was going first. But, okay. One, my partner who also happens to be a colleague of mine in the English department often says that education is an inherently violent act. It asks you to confront something that you are completely unfamiliar with and if you do the learning, completely change your own perspective. So one of the things that literature does is that it forces us to come to the understanding that how we see the world is just the way that we see the world. That every single person in this room, even though we have the shared experience of what's going on right now, has their own interpretation of what is going on right now. And so what literature does, the study of literature asks us not to seek truth with a capital T, but to understand the multiple truths that are always at play and to ask us to navigate those truths to try to find some kind of shared common ground. Most violence happens because of discomfort with difference. And that is something that's central to the study of literature and culture. I'll give you a text message from my cell phone, which is comprised of elements necessary to operate your cell phone. It says here on 10-7, gas, emergency, raise on earth notification. Gas coming from chemistry building area, avoid central campus. Now, the inherent danger in that comes from gas being leaked. It's also been a natural affiliate in that text message with the chemistry building. So yes, there is danger associated with understanding molecular destruction, or how these molecules can interact, but also the skill set of learning chemistry and biochemistry can allow one to be able to critically think through methods and approaches and develop techniques to combat these types of dangers, which not only could affect dictionary and manuscript, but our nation and our world. Well, hi. That's what history is all about. There's no censorship in history. And I'll just be short because, you know, I did so much time before. But yes, learning from those, you know, it's not just about learning about those mistakes, but because those mistakes are human pain. And so the same way that literature, you know, creates that sort of community that I was talking about, so that's history because, at least, our reading is not grounded in fiction or fact, you know, but we do kind of look at the record and try to avoid that bias and think. I think my discipline provides solutions to the natural dangers that are in our world. The viruses that affect us, the bacterial diseases that get us, the genetic components of our own bodies that betray us. We have solutions from molecular biology, from medications development to combat those dangers. They come up with their own dangers, but without them, we have no solutions to the dangers around us. Our second question will come from Dr. Adams in Chemistry. The question from Dr. Adams is, what contribution does your discipline make to an individual's physical and mental health or the health of the environment? One more time. What contribution does your discipline make to an individual's physical or mental health and the health of the environment? So, the two things that brought to my mind were just some things that made us as a society who kind of moved forward as a populist, one of the main things, one of the posts, one of the main things was our physical being. It has been discussed tonight about the biological significance of understanding how to develop growths from plants and things of that nature are critical for our survival. However, in order to get a physical amount of growth, a necessary growth from a plant, it takes a whole lot of plants. And, yes, remember, we are coming out with a populist. We don't have no plants. So, populists should come up with that kind of initiative. And the nuance is that organic, things like organic chemistry, although that is not a word that brings pleasant thoughts in people's minds. It is a necessary aspect of understanding the culture and life processes in order to be able to design in the laboratory monocles that can be used to deliver growths through nanotechnology and other fast-paced, fast-changing, technical biological advances. I'll ask the panel, is passing allowed? What contribution does your discipline make to an individual's physical and mental health or the health of the environment? Okay, so it's most popular here. And as you said, the resources are not there. Sure, we can have the technical abilities to do that, but we also need some organization. And to organize society, we need a kind of leadership that will coordinate the people to get to that point. So, yes, I will want to have that amount of biology, which we have also studied as a historian of science, and then I will have, you know, the leadership necessary and provide that kind of sense of organization that comes from knowing the learning skills that come from research, the best research that you possibly do is through the records that we have left. Without those records, you cannot make that scientific leap into what is coming next. So, those records won't have, whatever is left will have to be analyzed as well. Thank you. Please understand that the nature of the apocalypse was not explained before we took the stage. If there are no plants, as I explained to my cell biology class this morning, you can kiss a goodbye. We won't be eating anything. So, let's move on from there and assume that are. And because of my discipline's understanding is what our bodies need for our brains to operate, for our muscles to operate, and what organisms need to survive in order to interact with each other, I believe that biology sciences brings the only solution to bringing the nutrition to ourselves, our brains, and harmony to the environment. The picture of Doreen Gray writes that art annihilates the desire to act. And it's not a nihilistic view of the world or a pessimistic view of the world. It's a view that in this world we have, we need outlets to keep our sanity. And art, literature, culture, although we need the sustenance and the nutrients to nurture our bodies, our minds and our mental health, and our ability to sympathize and build community with others relies heavily on our ability to create new things, to be artistic, to be original, to be unique, and also to find those points of connection with other individuals. That's what nourishes the mind. So I'm sure that having an English professor or someone who is well versed in the very decent literature will be useful in that regard to balance, just the physical health that we also need to describe it. Dr. Brogie with History, our question from History Tonight is as follows. History shows that in an apocalyptic situation, humans may find solidarity, but they more often become less human. There will be a struggle for scarce resources. There will be factions forming, conflicts, chaos leading into further destruction. How is your discipline to prepare students to maintain peace and cooperation in an apocalyptic situation? Okay, well, with the formation of conflict and factions, there will be leaders, and some of them will be a little hard, and a little bit contoured. So the first thing that we'll try to tell them and you as historians will have to tell them is have some booze, have a cigar, and invite them to be at least a benevolent repeater. It will be able to show that the emperor has no clothes, and going back to that Sydney Harris quote, the skills of history research will allow you to see the risks in this well-concealed disguise, to show the resemblance that are with the mistakes and the lies about the past. Our friend Adolf here was famous for saying, if you tell a big enough lie, and tell it freely enough, it will be believed. History is without question the best antidote we have for our delusions of omnipotence, and on the science, self-knowledge. From history it is indispensable to self-control for the nation, as well as for the individual. Chaos is something that can form when people have the energy for chaos. If you don't have food, if you don't have water, if you don't have what you need to live, you form peaceful coalitions to find those resources that are critical to go on to the next day. I believe my discipline provides the knowledge that is necessary to find those resources to sustain ourselves, and to establish a sustainable system for the future. And so I believe it's that nation that will avoid and disrupt chaos. History shows that in an apocalyptic situation, humans may find solidarity, but they more often become less human. There will be a struggle for scarce resources, there will be factions forming, conflict, chaos leading in a further destruction. How does your discipline prepare students to maintain peace and cooperation in an apocalyptic situation? Again, all of those things that create divides and separation are the biggest things that undermine civilization as a whole. If any of you are familiar with any zombie films, or specifically if we're thinking about The Walking Dead, there's always stranded numbers, right? Me, don't go off by yourself into the middle of the zombie apocalypse because you're going to die, that's just how it works. So the thing that we absolutely need is a discipline for people who understand that there are stranded numbers and that conflict resolution and finding our points of shared interest is absolutely key to survival. And again, the way that we do that, the way that we find common ground is through storytelling, through shared narratives that everyone can latch onto and take what they need from those narratives in order to move forward. Notice that a lot of us keep coming back to examples from literature or from shows or even from history that we're still always involved in telling stories because that's what brings it alive and that's what makes people connect. So any scientific understanding of anything as well needs to be just an example, a story to help you remember it. One of the things that makes the study of natural sciences and biochemistry, the technical nuance that's required to develop basic skillset, to general skillset requires that there's a relevant critical thought from a different point of view. I think that basic knowledge, basic understanding of how to accurately think through certain senses, particularly negative certain senses, even if they don't have to do with atoms and molecules or physiological or biochemical processes together with us as people in society to be able to work through chaotic situations to come through these. This comes from Dr. Henry with biology. Biology's questions and ideas. Those attempting to rebuild civilization will need to be able to find, create, or exploit a number of resources. What resources will the new society need in order to survive and how does your discipline prepare us to find, create, or exploit those resources? First of all, understanding my discipline, which is the study of life, but it's the chemistry and physical nature of life gives me probably one of the broadest backgrounds at the table. It also gives me an understanding of what we need to find, grow, sustainably create over and over, which is a focus. We don't know with this apocalypse whether or not plants are gone, animals are gone, but the fact that we have a full understanding of microorganisms all the way through hairy animals like ourselves gives us the capability, the understanding of what it is we need to find and when we need to find it and what's created. So I believe that puts us in a best position to create resources that are not only immediate but to create sustainable resource solutions for the upcoming future, whatever that may be and I still hold. If we have no plants, it doesn't matter. The biggest resource that we have moving forward in a post-conflict world are ourselves. Are the other people who also share the space and whatever it is that is left over if you make a plant. Hopefully we got plants. That's what I'm telling you. But you know, I'm not a scientist but I know how to garden. So... There you go. It's really important for all of us to understand we need all of these disciplines. We need all of the people, hopefully that survive have basic skill sense and hopefully they all have a nice broad base of liberal arts education so they know how to plant things and they know how to boil their water filter. I don't know, other lecturers, I think we can maybe do that for a while. Sometimes the best thing is, as many of the romantic poets do, sometimes you need to leave the modern world behind and return to nature to really find out who you are and what you value. So in that sense, I think, again, the biggest resource we have is ourselves. And knowing that we're all connected and finding ways to now we leave that new world together. We want to provide the sustainability that's necessary to rebuild our post-independent society. It is imperative that we maintain some sort of general understanding of how monocles impact our society and all of our plans to re-grow and continue to grow these things. They have to be protected against pesticides, the environmental, the academic, the understanding of electrical instruction and the knowledge to develop these types of compounds that can help to keep parasites and other microorganisms that also can be efficient and also can be detrimental. And, again, I understand how to liberate our communities that have fun in the middle of it and this approach aiming at sustainability for our society. So we have two skill sets here that specialize in how to master resources and two sets of skills that will help us master the human nature that should lead us to those resources. So, yes, I agree with all of us that in the end, it's about how we organize this research towards those resources. I've gone from a country that has gone through a lot of periods of starvation and poor resources going on and we have the same in my country that it's the art of managing and how many times we have managed and, frankly, we have been pretty well learning from those lessons because of how as a society and how from our long, long history we have learned how to reorganize and rebuild from scratch again. So we have very little to resort to and we don't even have the technical tools to kind of operate those chemical compounds. Perhaps, you know, the necessary human condition that will help us understand that you can do little. You can do a lot with little. Maybe that's what we can learn from us as humans. Let's conclude the questions we have from the faculty who are on the stage. However, what some of you may not know is that we were supposed to have a fifth member with us here tonight representing the Department of Theater. The performing arts can conquer a lot of things. Bronchitis is not one of them. In the spirit of the fine arts we want to include that question for the panel because they all would have had to answer it. So a question in the spirit of the fine arts and whoever wants to take this first can take this first. How does a healthy understanding of an appreciation for performing arts make students or practitioners in your field better at what they do? We do what we do because other people believe in what we can do provide us the resources with what we can do because we're good enough performing and convincing to get them to give us the money and the necessary equipment performing arts. Are you kidding? Everything we do is performance. We're selling. We're trying to tell you how it's going to help you so that we can do what we think is important for you. It's performance and it's a sales job. But in the end hopefully it does help. Education is inherently a it's also violent and it's also inherently performative. We are all performing on stage today in order to get a point across. If I go back to my original example of Frankenstein most of you have probably encountered Frankenstein in a movie and stage adaptations of Frankenstein were actually the most crucial in terms of making that narrative widely accessible to a broad audience, much more than the book. So absolutely performance is key to keeping something alive. Adaptation of itself is inherently performative in nature because it requires an adaptation and an understanding of its surroundings and finding the way to best express itself in those environments and for new audiences. So the fine arts and performance is absolutely key in terms of both keeping our stories alive especially if we don't have lots of books to read we'll all be performing these stories around a campfire at night and also because in terms of learning anything in order for it to truly stick it needs to be performative and adapt to its audience. A scene traverses there's a double head a helical structure of atoms put together so that this ion can go from one side of the cell to the other side of the cell and to be able to understand how these internal arrangements and be able to actually visualize that's art to see how people visualize through our understanding of fundamental nature of atoms that we can't see without a naked eye we can visualize using other approaches such as computers and other visualization programs allow us to use chemistry as a source of power I think that visualizing something is one of the most fundamental keys to actually strengthen one's ability to learn to use what we learn from techniques at the atomic level to be able to connect to a visualization program that provides an education and also provides a level of artistic interpretation History as art history as performance it happens all the time whenever I feel that I'm boring the pants off of my students I show them history through fiction and historical movies or I show them Dr. Strane's Love so I mean let's have Frankenstein to see how the apocalypse may happen so to nurture that human nature we need sometimes to kind of embellish history a little bit I will not have a screen, I will not have a projector at least I will not have books probably but the problem the point is exactly this that it will stay in here so we will just narrate it that way and we will add some costumes