Conference – Slowing down to understand better: an Invitation to Slow Science
Have you ever found yourself grading papers between two meetings, rushing to finish a paper at the last minute, or feeling that your courses have become deadlines rather than spaces for meaningful transmission? You are probably not alone.
On Thursday 25 September at 6:00 PM, on the eve of the new academic year, UMONS will host two exceptional guests: Canadian professors Maggie Berg and Barbara Seeber, authors of The Slow Professor. This book – now a widely acknowledged reference in academic circles – along with their broader body of work, has earned them the UMONS DHC, which will be awarded the following day.
Their message is simple yet profound: good science cannot be done in a hurry. Thinking, reading, teaching – and reconnecting with the reasons we chose this path – all require time.
In a one-hour session, they will share their reflections and open a discussion on our practices, our pace, and what it truly means to research and teach today.
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Barbara K. Seeber is Professor of English at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario. She is the author of Jane Austen and Animals as well as General Consent in Jane Austen. Her teaching areas are eighteenth-century literature and Animal Studies, and she is the recipient of the Brock Faculty of Humanities Award for Excellence in Teaching. She is the co-author of The Slow Professor: Challenging the Culture of Speed in the Academy (2016), and its forthcoming, expanded Ten-Year Anniversary Edition. |
Maggie Berg is Emeritus Professor of English at Queen’s University. She has published, and continues to write, on the novels of the Brontë sisters. She won five teaching awards during her career at Queen’s including the W.J. Barnes Award for Teaching Excellence three times, the Chancellor A. Charles Baillie Award for Teaching Excellence, and a University Chair in Teaching and Learning. She is the co-author of The Slow Professor: Challenging the Culture of Speed in the Academy (2016), and its forthcoming, expanded Ten-Year Anniversary Edition. |
A rare opportunity to reflect together on what we value most. An event specifically dedicated to academics and researchers.
Practical information
- 🗓️ Thursday 25 September 2025
- 🕕 Talk: 6:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Discussion: 6:30 PM – 7:00 PM
- 📍 Auditoire Landercy – Rosa Parks Building, UMONS
- 🍷 Informal reception at the Rosa Parks Forum from 7:00 PM
- 🌐 Register here
- 🇬🇧 Conference held in English
7000 MONS, Belgium
