Bentley Alumni Series in the Humanities
BASH
The Bentley Alumni Series in the Humanities (BASH) is a new program that brings Bentley alumni together with faculty and students to discuss topics of broad humanistic interest. BASH sessions include a presentation by a faculty member on the evening's topic or the viewing of film and other media, followed by
an informal group discussion.
The Good Enough Manager: A Psychological Perspective on Leading in Organizations
Date: February 18, 2010
Time: 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Location: Adamian Commons (AAC 341)
Presentation by Aaron Nurick, Psychology
The great cellist Yo-Yo Ma once commented that “perfection is not very communicative” regarding his life as a musician. The same idea applies to management. In this session we will focus on the application of the theories of the psychoanalyst D.W. Winnicott to the practice of management. Managing people in organizations requires effectively navigating interpersonal relationships that have their origins in the earliest stages of human development. This work is based on a research study of descriptions of best and worst managers from a sample of over 1000 respondents. We will explore when “good enough” is good enough and how the best managers create a facilitating environment for their employees.
Featured Events for Fall 2009
How I Know Who You Are: Perception and the Problem of
Other Minds
Date: November 10, 2009
Time: 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Location: Smith 321
Presentation by Axel Seemann, Philosophy
One hotly debated issue in philosophy is the so-called "Problem of Other Minds." It goes something like this: since my perceptual awareness of you is based on information about your body (a physical object, not unlike a chair, house, or car), how is it that I always think of you as a person when I see you—that is, an object with a mind as well as a body? In this session, Professor Seemann will discuss recent developments in psychology and social neuroscience have made available new ways of tackling this classic philosophical problem. These new insights also allow us to reconsider problems such as autistic disorders from a novel and promising perspective.
