A "Humanities and Civic Engagement" symposium, is scheduled from 10:20 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, in the Alumni Lounge at Wayne State.

Michael Sandel, professor of government at Harvard University, will be the keynote speaker on the topic, "What Ails Democracy Today? America in Search of a Public Philosophy." Sandel has written important books on liberalism and democracy. His book, Democracy's Discontent, is one of the most reviewed and authoritative texts in his discipline. He will be available to meet and talk with interested individuals from 9-10 a.m. in the Alumni Lounge.

The 10:20 a.m. -12:30 p.m. morning session include Sandel's keynote address followed by a panel discussion with WSU faculty members Anne Rawls, associate professor of sociology; Brad Roth, assistant professor of political science; and Bruce Russell, professor of philosophy. Lawrence Scaff, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and professor of political science, will be the moderator.

The afternoon session will run 2-4 p.m. and will feature Otto Feinstein, WSU professor of political science, as the principal speaker. His topic will be the "Politics of Inclusion in Multicultural Societies."

Panel respondents will include Jagdish Gundara, head of the Institute of Multicultural Education at the University of London and president of the Association for Intercultural Education; and Sheri Hamilton of the Adult and Civil Education Project in South Africa. Professor Jozef Katus of Leiden University and the University of Budapest and president of the European Symposium of Voluntary Associations; and Silva Mezaric, director of the Center for Immigration and Ethnic Studies at the University of Zagreb, also will respond. Alma Young, dean and Coleman A. Young professor in the WSU College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan Affairs, will moderate the discussion.

Additional responses from other Wayne State and international participants will be presented. Walter Edwards, director of the WSU Humanities Center, which sponsors the symposium, says the one of the center's roles is to bring together humanists of all persuasions to engage issues of central importance to the humanities and the arts. He says this conference provides an opportunity to discuss the notions of civic engagement, democracy and public morality.

"Sandel and Feinstein look on these issues in comparative and provocative ways," Edwards says. "They stimulate our thinking and invite ideas. With the presidential election imminent, democracy, civic literacy and involvement are timely topics for academic and popular conversation." For more information call the center at (313) 577-5471.