Symposium Against Indifference series continues with screening, panel discussion of “i am sam”

ASHLAND, Ohio – Ashland University’s Symposium Against Indifference series continues with a film screening of “i am sam” and panel discussion on Tuesday, Feb. 17. The event will be held at the Student Center Auditorium inside the Hawkins-Conard Student Center, starting at 6 p.m.

Carly George, clinical assistant professor of social work at AU, will lead the discussion. First, the audience will watch the film through the lens of “Thinking About Intelligence,” this year’s theme for the Symposium Against Indifference series. It serves as an opportunity to question what intelligence truly means – who defines it, how it is measured and how it shapes the way people are treated by society. George will be joined by a panel of local mental health professionals.

“i am sam,” starring Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer, is a 2001 film about a man with an intellectual disability fighting to retain custody of his daughter. Penn plays Sam Dawson, a single father who is deemed unfit by the legal system to raise his daughter. He hires cold-hearted lawyer Rita Harrison, played by Pfeiffer, and ends up enlightening her about the power of love and family. Penn was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance.

AU’s Symposium Against Indifference series began in 2001. The College of Arts and Sciences seeks to challenge the university community, as well as the wider Ashland community, toward a deeper understanding of difficult affairs and creative responses from individuals and organizations. Themes from previous years have included “The Holocaust,” “Human Nature,” “The Promises and Perils of Technology,” “Inquiry into What Makes a Hero,” “Building Bridges Through Dialogue” and “Truth in the Age of Disinformation.”