Annual Theme
College Park Scholars' annual theme brings the community together in a shared intellectual experience. We take on a complex, multifaceted problem that demands thoughtful, creative, hands-on solutions, allowing Scholars across all of our programs to engage with one another.
The theme and related programming afford us the opportunity to realize on a grand scale an idea that shapes everything we do in Scholars: We learn better when we learn together.
#ScholarsAt25, 2019–2020
The 2019–2020 academic year was organized around a celebration of Scholars' 25th anniversary.
- Moving at the Speed of Democracy: Rep. Jamie Raskin's Leadership Journey (marquee event)
- 25th anniversary ice cream flavor from the Maryland Dairy
- Pop-up service opportunities
- Monthly Scholars trivia on Instagram Stories
Migrations: Populations and Practices on the Move, 2018–2019
The trend toward globalization has increased the movement of ideas, goods and services around the world. Meanwhile, a variety of forces have prompted greater migrations of people and wildlife, putting new pressures on national borders and identities. This Scholars theme was tied to a campus-wide initiative, “Year of Immigration,” sponsored by the College of Arts and Humanities and the Office of International Affairs.
- Migrations: Conversations on food, art and cultural fusion, with Andy Shallal and Psyche Williams-Forson, featuring a special appearance by Regie Cabico (marquee event)
- Other lectures and panels: First Year Book discussion; migration dialogue
- First Year Book: "The Refugees," by Viet Than Nguyen
- Film screenings: "Climate Refugees," "Salam Neighbor"
- Excursions: Harriet Tubman Byway, Zine-organized self-tour
- Innovation That Counts, a census project with the Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Going Viral, 2017–2018
Tied to the program’s participation in Dr. Don Milton’s CATCH the Virus study of the roles of biomarkers, social networks and buildings in the spread of flu viruses and other respiratory diseases, "Going Viral" examined how things spread in the physical and virtual environments of modern life—from viruses to cultural phenomena to fake news.
- Muddied Waters: Online Disinformation During Crisis Events, a lecture and discussion with Professor Kate Starbird (marquee event)
- Other lectures and panels: CATCH study kickoff, memes
- Participation in CATCH study, including internships and research assistantships
- Film screenings: "28 Days Later," "How to Survive a Plague"
Power: Citizenship, Circuits, Societies, 2016–2017
Tying into the 2016 Presidential election year, this theme provided a study of power across social, political, cultural, scientific and technological domains.
- Tainted Witness: Why We Doubt What Women Say About Their Lives – A Conversation with Leigh Gilmore (marquee event)
- Other lectures and panels: Presidential debate watches, Do Facts Matter?
- Co-sponsored and affiliated lectures: Democracy Then and Now, Crimmigration conference
- First Year Book: "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
- Academic Showcase poster competition
Trash: The Problem of Waste in Our Lives and World
Scholars' first annual theme leveraged the book, "Picking Up," Robin Nagle's anthropological study of New York sanitation workers, to prompt a program-wide examination of how the world deals with trash.
- Majora Carter lecture: Home(town) Security (marquee event)
- Other lectures and panels: Robin Nagle, Allison Orr, bay pollution
- Film screenings: "Bag It," "Terra Blight," "Gravity," "WALL-E"
- Book: "Picking Up: On the Streets and Behind the Trucks with the Sanitation Workers of New York City," by Robin Nagle
- Academic Showcase poster competition