“The Star Thrower’s Quest: The Challenge of Reconciliation on the World Stage”

Ian McIntosh, presidential scholar in the department of sociology and anthropology, will give a public lecture. “The Star Thrower,” the famous short story by anthropologist Loren Eiseley from his book “The Unexpected Universe,” has informed a whole generation of people working to make this a better world. “The Star Thrower” is the model activity for the “one smile at a time, one child at a time, one village at a time” methodology. An analysis of Eiseley’s story, however, reveals a deeper message about the importance of social movements and not just individual action. In this talk, McIntosh draws inspiration from the star thrower analogy in defining the way forward in the pursuit of truth and reconciliation in diverse societies on the global stage.