Associate Professor of Philosophy Jesse Butler was selected as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar.
鈥淚 am very excited,鈥 Butler said. 鈥淭his is a tremendous opportunity for positive cross-cultural exchange, and I鈥檓 looking forward to making the most of it.鈥
The Fulbright Program aims to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries, and it is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government.
Butler will spend 10 months teaching an American philosophy course at Jinan University in Guangzhou, China, and he will lecture at other Chinese universities. The curriculum for the class, titled 鈥淪elf-knowledge in American philosophy and literature,鈥 was developed through a National Endowment for the Humanities 鈥淓nduring Questions鈥 grant.
鈥淚 hope to conduct some interesting discussions based on how Americans understand themselves and how that relates to the Chinese people,鈥 Butler said. 鈥淲hile there are differences between us, it is crucial to recognize our shared humanity in the increasingly global world in which we live.鈥
Butler earned a bachelor鈥檚 and doctorate degree at the University of Oklahoma. He began teaching at the University of Central Arkansas in 2007 and earned tenure in 2013. He teaches philosophy, critical thinking, logic and theories of knowledge courses in the College of Liberal Arts.