Dan Phillips of Phoenix Commotion will speak at 10 a.m. in Forster Art Complex Room 111 and at an Environmental Studies forum at noon in Wright Campus Center Room 254. Michael Davidson, professor of English at the University of California, San Diego, will speak at 4:30 p.m. in Caruth Administration Building Room 201.
The adage “One man’s trash is another’s treasure” definitely has been true in the life of Dan Phillips, founder of Phoenix Commotion in Huntsville, Texas. Learning carpentry, electrical work, and plumbing on his own, Phillips has made an industry of homebuilding from whatever durable materials he can find. He said his materials are remnants of other construction projects, salvaged from trash, or picked up along the road.
Phillips, 64, has several goals in his work: reduce landfill waste, provide low-income home ownership, and train unskilled laborers. His efforts can be seen in various forms around Huntsville, and have been highlighted by The New York Times and other media.
Mark Monroe, Austin College associate professor of art, is hosting the speaker, who will speak with students in Monroe’s “Sustainable, Innovative and Alternative Architecture” class.
The American Studies Program hosts speaker Michael Davidson, who will speak on “Volatile Bodies: Disability, Deafness, and American Studies,” at 4:30 p.m. in the Caruth Administration Building Room 201. Greg Kinzer, assistant professor of English, is director of the American Studies Program at Austin College.
Davidson is a professor of English at the University of California, San Diego. His talk will offer an introduction to the growing field of disability studies, and will explore how the experience of disability shapes the work of artists and writers and d/Deaf poetry in particular. Author of several works, his most recent book is Concerto For The Left Hand: Disability and the DeFamiliar Body.”
Austin College is a leading national independent liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas. Founded in 1849, making it the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original charter and name, the college is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA). Recognized nationally for academic excellence in the areas of international education, pre-professional training, and leadership studies, Austin College is one of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges that Change Lives.