Participant Feedback
“One thing that all the speakers agreed upon as a key component of curiosity was humility. It was amazing to me that these experts in their respective fields were so open and receptive to thinking about curiosity and how they use it, or don’t use it in their lives. Thinking about how we think and why we think is not the most comfortable task, but the speakers and everyone in the audience was willing to be in the conversation with the discomfort.” (Undergraduate student)
.
“I enjoyed the opportunity to think about myself and what I do in a way I normally do not.” (panelist)
.
“It was refreshing to hear academics speaking earnestly and with an immediacy about curiosity. We spend so much time cultivating postures, choreographing our words and delivery, or consuming knowledge that has been so thoroughly pruned and prepped for us otherwise that it was delightful to have an experience where I for one truly felt like I was thinking alongside the panelists. Really invigorating—looking forward to the others." (attendee)
.
“I really enjoy the discussion panel in Spanish at City of Asylum. As a native Spanish speaking person living in this area for more than 3 years I can tell you this was refreshing. It was such a joy be able to listen to the panelists, their experiences and what they do with the community.
Also it was a great opportunity to showcase diversity. Specially in the times we are living. This was a great collaboration. Now, I am wonder if there will be more of this Discussion Panels?” (attendee)
.
“The day I was at the Spanish discussion I abstract myself for a little while and start to think about the Duality of the Being. I live a life in a second language since I move here in the US. Sometimes I feel that I live in a movie. I felt like somehow there is 2 me…” (attendee)
.
“As with the previous events, this one was deeply engaging....This has been one of the most interesting threads of my year.” (panelist and attendee)
.
“After each panel I had a discussion with each of my classes about curiosity and the specifics of that week’s panel. Just the fact of having an open-ended discussion about curiosity with the students - soliciting their comments about their own experiences where curiosity was fostered - changed the dynamic of the classroom. It became more process, less product oriented. I hope that it also demonstrated that the classroom is a living space made up of a community." (previous panelist and attendee)
.
“I really had a wonderful night last night and our conversation is still resonating. It was such a better day today having shared that experience with you and I’m very grateful I was included in this…. [directed to fellow panelists], it’s been a long time since I enjoyed more meaningful thinking and I’m grateful to you for sharing your insights with me.” (panelist)
.
“I look forward to the next iteration of Curiosity discussions in whatever form they take and so applaud your energies in conceiving and producing this inspiring series. I've told Kate each week how much have I looked forward to the next panel and been buoyed by each discussion, for days. “(panelist and attendee)
What Does it Mean to be Curious?
A Discussion Series at the University of Pittsburgh, 2015-2019
What Does it Mean to Be Curious? is a discussion series I co-founded* and directed where panelists from a variety of academic and professional backgrounds have a free-ranging discussion about the nature, capacity, and challenges of curiosity. As we wonder collectively, welcoming multiple voices and perspectives, we build unexpected partnerships and come to inhabit transdisciplinary terrain. We engage in metacognitive, reflective practice, deepening our awareness of ourselves as thinkers. The curiosity discussion series provides public space for this inner work, supporting people as they formulate new questions and observations.
*What Does it Mean to Be Curious? was created by Kate Joranson and Nate Morehouse in 2015, during the Year of the Humanities at The University of Pittsburgh.
Curiosity + Unfamiliar Spaces
January 25, 2019
Studio for Creative Inquiry, Carnegie Mellon University
What does it mean to be curious about unfamiliar spaces? Join this free-ranging discussion where we explore how people create with and contend with seemingly inaccessible languages, vocabularies, scripts, social spaces, and wild spaces.
Nina Barbuto, Director, Assemble
Marijke Hecht, Graduate Student, School of Education, University of Pittsburgh
Darrell Kinsel, Co-founder, Boom Concepts
Kyle McDonald, Artist
Moderator: Kate Joranson, Head, Frick Fine Arts Library, University Library System
Curiosity Dialogues: Making Connections Despite Our Fear
March 22, 2018
Hillman Library, University Library System, University of Pittsburgh
Curiosity can be born out of fear and trepidation while it can also come from a desire to connect and find commonalities. How are these intertwined? People may be afraid but also want to know and share. We fear, but we are wired to want to connect.
In March 2018, we offered a two-hour discussion-based program where participants dug into their own experiences, listened deeply to others, and reflected on experiences of being othered. Facilitators fostered an environment where we explored social identities and how we perceive ourselves and one another.
Mario Browne, Director, Office of Health Sciences Diversity, University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences
Erika Gold Kestenberg, Associate Director of Educator Development and Practice, Center for Urban Education
Kate Joranson, Head, Frick Fine Arts Library, University Library System
Carol Mullen, Director of Communications, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Produced in collaboration with the Open Door Project, and the Intergroup Dialogue Collective, and with support from the Humanities Center and the University Library System.
¿Se Puede Cultivar la Curiosidad?
November 8, 2017
Alphabet City, City of Asylum, Pittsburgh, PA
How is a person’s curiosity engaged, challenged, and embodied through language? This panel discussion will be conducted in Spanish, with headset translation available for those who would like to listen in English. We will encourage audience questions, and reserve time at the end for the audience to reflect on the experience of listening in both English and Spanish.
Rosamaria Cristello, Executive Director, Latino Community Center
Jose Diaz, Chief Curator, The Andy Warhol Museum
Diego Chaves-Gnecco, MD, MPH, FAAP, Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician, Associate Professor, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
Angelica Ocampo, President and CEO, World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh
Co-moderators:
Kate Joranson, Head, Frick Fine Arts Library, University of Pittsburgh
Silvia Duarte, Assistant Director, City of Asylum
Do Disciplines Engage Curiosity Differently?
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Humanities Center, University of Pittsburgh
Michael Madison, Director, Innovation Practice Institute, School of Law
Jim Maher, Provost Emeritus and Physicist
Barbara McCloskey, Chair, History of Art and Architecture
Jason Rosenstock, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine
Moderator: Dan Kubis
Can Curiosity Promote Healthy Living?
Thursday, December 1, 2016
Scaife Hall, University of Pittsburgh
Ketaki Desai, Executive Director, eCenter@LindenPointe
Willa Doswell, Associate Professor, School of Nursing
Linnea Glick, Assistant Director, PITT ARTS
Lynne Williams, Physician, Co-Founder, Jeremiah's Place
Moderator: Nate Morehouse
What is Curiosity in Action?
April 6, 2016
Morehouse Lab, Clapp Hall, University of Pittsburgh
Gretchen Bender, History of Art and Architecture
Carol Greco, UPMC Center for Integrative Medicine
Delanie Jenkins, Studio Arts
Cori Richards-Zawacki, Department of Biological Sciences
Moderator: Nate Morehouse
Can tools enable curiosity?
February 17, 2016
Digital Scholarship Commons, Hillman Library, University Library System, University of Pittsburgh
Nathan Clark, Computational and Systems Biology
Eric Moe, Department of Music
Jocelyn Monahan, School of Information Sciences
Jeff Suzik, Falk Laboratory School
Moderator: Kate Joranson
Can sites cultivate curiosity?
December 10, 2015
Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA
Richard Pell, CMU/Center for PostNatural History
Kirk Savage, History of Art and Architecture
Steve Tonsor, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Barbara Weissberger, Studio Arts
Moderator: Kate Joranson
What is curiosity and can it be learned?
November 18, 2015
Henry Clay Frick Fine Arts Library, University Library System, University of Pittsburgh
Alison Langmead, History of Art and Architecture & School of Information Sciences
Aaron Henderson, Studio Arts
Edward Stricker, Neuroscientist & Dean of University Honors College
Paolo Palmieri, History and Philosophy of Science
Moderator: Nate Morehouse