Murphy to receive award, deliver lecture

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BROOKINGS – South Dakota State University assistant professor of religion James Murphy will receive the fifth-annual J.P. Hendrickson Liberal Arts Faculty Scholar Award and deliver the Herbert Cheever Jr. Liberal Arts Lecture. 

The award presentation and lecture, sponsored by SDSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, are scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 16 in the Volstorff Ballroom of the University Student Union on the SDSU campus.

Murphy’s lecture is “Standing, Kneeling, Respecting and Protesting: Liberal Arts Education and Clashes Over National Symbols.”

Murphy said the talk originated on a Sunday afternoon at his house as sports reporters speculated whether there would be another round of protests at the day’s NFL games.

“It suddenly struck me that the national anthem protests and the intense response around them were related to Emile Durkheim’s classic study, ‘The Elementary Forms of Religious Life.’ I hope to explain that national symbols are important to us but they’re symbols of something greater, and Durkheim enables one to see this at a much greater level,” Murphy said. “We sometimes need to remind ourselves that the symbols, although important, are less important than what they represent, and we’re letting this debate about standing or kneeling for symbols get in the way of some really important issues that need to be discussed in our society.”

He attributes the insights he will discuss to his early coursework in religious studies.

“I wouldn’t have made that connection without a liberal arts education,” Murphy said. “A liberal arts education gives students opportunities to expand their knowledge and ability to think critically. It allows one to look at issues and know that we may not agree on them at the end of the day, but if we expand our knowledge base, develop sharper skills in critical thinking and a sense of empathy for those individuals who have differing opinions – these are fundamental skills that higher education should be providing us.

“Symbols are important to everybody. Symbols help identify who we are but studies show that there are times when we confuse the symbols for what they represent, and what we really revere is something behind the symbol,” continued Murphy. “Having a debate and discussion on symbols is not a bad thing. It should help us remember what symbols are, what they’re for and that they can mean different things to different people. I hope to push people to think about what’s more important – the symbol or what it represents?”

The award and lecture are named for two former College of Arts and Sciences professors and administrators. Professor John Phillip Hendrickson was a longtime faculty member and head of the Department of Political Science from 1957 to 1988.

Previous recipients are: Paul Baggett (2014), Timothy Meyer (2015), Greg Peterson (2016) and Michael Dianovsky (2017).

Herbert Cheever Jr. served as a professor in political science from 1968 until his retirement in 2000. He served as department head for nine years and as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for nine years.

“John Hendrickson and Herbert Cheever devoted their careers to nurturing the liberal arts at South Dakota State University. They served as role models for what it means to live an intellectually enriching life. Thanks to their vision and leadership, thousands of students have graduated from SDSU well prepared to succeed in an ever-changing economy, and to participate in their communities as engaged citizens,” said Jason Zimmerman, interim dean for the College of Arts and Sciences.

Upon Hendrickson’s retirement in 1988, Cheever said, “J.P. Hendrickson exemplifies the qualities of the best of professors. His scholarship, teaching and advisement, character and citizenship have consistently, year in and year out, been ranked high by those who work with him or study under him. A professor’s professor.”

The J. P. Hendrickson Faculty Scholar award celebrates a life devoted to teaching and learning, strengthens the pride and cohesion within the College of Arts and Sciences around its core mission, and stimulates collective thinking about the importance and value of providing all students with the strongest possible liberal arts experience and education in and out of the classroom.

The Herbert Cheever Jr. Liberal Arts Lecture is the signature celebration of the value of a liberal education within the College of Arts and Sciences at South Dakota State University. The Cheever Lecture emphasizes the role and importance of a liberal arts education in today’s increasingly specialized and vocationally oriented political and higher education climate.