2009 Brockington Visitor Michael MacMillan
In 1976 second-year Film student and Co-Head of ASUS Orientation Week Michael MacMillan produced a movie about the Queen's undergraduate experience called The Academic Cloister. After a few student showings the administration became concerned and there were no further screenings. What was so controversial about this documentary? Are any of its critical comments about teaching and learning at Queen's still valid today? While still at Queen's MacMillan co-founded Atlantis Films Limited. That company later became Alliance Atlantis Communications, Canada's largest and most successful media production and distribution company. MacMillan was Chair and CEO of the company for 29 years. Today he is co-founder and Chair of Samara, a non-profit organization committed to strengthening public leadership and democratic engagement.
As the 2009 Brockington Visitor, Michael MacMillan will be featured at an event on Tuesday, November 3 at 7:30 in Ellis Hall Auditorium called "The Academic Cloister Reconsidered: 1976-2009." The night will include an on-stage interview between MacMillan and Clarke Mackey, Head of the Department of Film and Media; a screening of the twenty-minute film The Academic Cloister; responses from a panel including Patrick Deane, Vice-Principal (Academic), Chi Yan Lam, undergraduate student in Life Sciences, Alison Loat, Queen's alumna, AMS Vice-President of University Affairs (1988-99) and Executive Director of Samara, Christine Overall, professor in the Department of Philosophy, and John Hanes, professor in the Department of Geological Sciences; as well as questions and comments from the audience. Admission is free and open to all members of the public and the Queen's community
The central theme of The Academic Cloister, one that is still relevant today, is the difference between the stated ideals of what a great university experience should be and the reality. Thirty-three years ago, the young narrator of the film tells us, "The unfortunate fact is that undergraduate years offer little chance for individual analysis and investigation. The drive at university is to conform, not analyze, to transfer information, not question it. Students entering university often find the academic atmosphere of the classroom or exam hall far from a critical and broadening environment. They find themselves in a chase for marks little different from that of high school. The mark and lecture system, by its very existence, makes facts and information more important than the ability to apply them."
Was that true then? Is it true today? What's changed and what hasn't? We are inviting everyone with an interest in undergraduate learning and teaching to join in the public debate on November 3 about the meaning and purpose of a university education in the twenty-first century.
Michael MacMillan will be on campus from Tuesday to Friday, November 3-6. Other public events include an informal gathering at The Mansion, 506 Princess, Wednesday, November 4, 8:30 p.m. with food and a cash bar, at which the conversation will continue. On Thursday, November 5, at 7:00 p.m. MacMillan will be speaking at a student-organized event called The Last Lecture at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre. Classroom visits and other meetings are planned as well. Funding provided by the Senate Committee on Creative Arts and Public Lectures, the AMS, and ASUS.