From the President

I am pleased to introduce the Spring 2008 issue of Reason & Respect: A Journal of Civil Discourse at Roger Williams University, which focuses on “The Clash of Civilizations.”

While many universities publish scholarly journals at the graduate level, few do so as a means of engaging undergraduate students in intellectual inquiry. Reason & Respect is designed with our students in mind—both as readers and as writers. Its purpose is to offset more popular forms of discourse, where too often volume has replaced substance and reason. It provides a venue for all members of our community to respond critically, but respectfully, to diverse ideas and perspectives.

As an institution committed to civil interchange about the important topics of our time, we believe that discourse, no matter how passionate, can and must be conducted with reason and respect because we also celebrate those values as inherently important to our community.

Ably edited by Professors Kate Mele, Robert Engvall, and Roxanne O’Connell, the journal reinforces a number of core values important to our university: a love of learning for its own sake; faculty-student scholarly efforts; commitment to service; a global perspective and mutual respect. Those values form the foundation of our university and are represented by Reason & Respect.

The Spring 2008 theme is inspired by Samuel P. Huntington, who argues that conflict among civilizations results not from an economic or political clash, but from significant cultural difference. In a wide range of essays, contributors investigate differences and similarities among civilizations past and present; discuss the underlying values, social relations, and customs of a particular culture; and analyze texts in which cultural collisions occur.

I look forward to once again reading the various thoughtful perspectives presented in Reason & Respect, which, hopefully, will lead to further discussions about living and learning in a global context.

Sincerely,
Roy J. Nirschel, Ph.D.
President, Roger Williams University