Honors College Dean Presents Annual Film Lecture

Dr. Thomas Hibbs to use popular films to illustrate unexamined, unlived life

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Dr. Thomas S. Hibbs, Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Culture and dean of the Honors College at Baylor University, will present his annual film lecture at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2, in the reading room of Alexander Hall on Baylor's campus. This event is free and open to the public.

Hibbs' lecture - "The Unlived Life Is Not Worth Examining: Facebook, Your Soul, and Liberal Education" - is part of the Honors College Lecture Series that takes place during the fall and spring semesters. Hibbs based his upcoming lecture on Socrates' quote, "The unexamined life is not worth living," and will look at the unexamined life and see if it is worth examining.

Hibbs will discuss the technological advances in life that hinder people from being self-reflective, such as social media sites, where people record their lives instead of living them. Hibbs will then examine contemporary films such as "The Dark Knight," "Batman Begins," "Memento" and other films.

"It is easier to screw up an ending with a falsely happy ending, but films can also screw up the ending by denying elements of hope that have been hinted at during the film," he said.

Hibbs guest lectures at many universities and high schools across America and is the author of several books, including Dialectic and Narrative in Aquinas: An Interpretation of the Summa Contra Gentiles, Aquinas, Ethics, and the Philosophy of Religion: Metaphysics and Practice, Arts of Darkness: American Noir and The Lost Code of Redemption and a book on popular culture, Shows About Nothing.

Hibbs has made more than 100 appearances on nationally syndicated NPR shows, such as "The Connections," "On the Media" and "All Things Considered," as well as local NPR stations in Boston; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Dallas; and Rochester, N.Y.

In addition Hibbs has published works in Books and Culture, Christianity Today, First Things, New Atlantis, The Dallas Morning News, The National Review, The Weekly Standard and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Hibbs received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Dallas and his doctorate from the University of Notre Dame. He taught for 13 years at Boston College, before joining Baylor in 2003. As dean of the Honors College, Hibbs oversees the Honors Program, the Great Texts major, University Scholars and the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core (BIC).
by Colton Wright, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805