As part of the school's effort to further expose its students to the liberal arts in an environment focused solely on science and engineering, the Academic Information Management Team in collaboration with the staff of Digital Science Library have planned the Culture Project Series, a series of lectures covering various topics in liberal arts. The first of these lectures took place on November 3 at Terman Hall in the Creative Learning Building.

 

The lecture, titled "European Cities and Cultures," was given by Dong-hoon Song, a former news reporter and author of the series "Grand Tour," and Jung-woo Yoo, a classical music columnist and surgeon. The speakers represented Pung Wol Dang, a classical music community center based in Seoul. The bulk of the two and a half hour lecture was provided by Mr. Song, who spoke about the history and culture of various cities in Europe, while Mr. Yoo provided samples of classical music and how the development of classical music was tied to the cultures of these cities.

 

The first half of the lecture focused on the history of Rome and the Roman Empire covering essentially all aspects from the founding of Rome through to its downfall, as well as its impact on the rest of Europe's history. The second half of the lecture covered the histories of Paris and Vienna including that of the French and Austro-Hungarian Empires. However, the main focus was shifted towards the development of classical music throughout Europe. The audience was afforded the opportunity to listen to various samples of classical music with Mr. Yoo providing commentary after each piece.

 

Food and refreshments were offered after the lecture ended and the audience had a chance to converse with the two speakers and ask questions. While no concrete information has been made available, KAIST is currently planning a second lecture in the series.