Text and photos (c) Robert Barry Francos/FFanzeen, 2017
Title photo from St. Thomas More College Website
I've known Eric McLuhan and his son Andrew for a few years now, meeting up with them at Media Ecology Association conferences throughout the world. One would think that Eric would be stuck in the shadow of his father, Marshall, but for those of us who pay attention, he is a brilliant thinker in his own right.
Referencing Marshall, as we all do (and should), whether we realize it or not, Eric has risen to high academic circles on his own and risen to the academic stratosphere with his publications about media, religion, and culture in both solo projects as well as with others, such as a recent collaboration with Dr. Peter Zhang.
Eric comes across as a bit elfin and frail, walking with a cane and being soft-spoken, but I've also seen him give heck to other academics who he believes crosses the line of what he or his dad was positing in their writing, including recently with one who had collaborated with Marshall.
For this talk, his topic was "Catholicism and Communication: The Sensus Communis, Synesthesia, and the Soul." Marshall had famously adopted Catholicism in his adulthood, and raised his family in it, so it makes sense that this would be a topic Eric would cover on his talk for the 29th Annual Michael Keenan Memorial Lecture, in Father O'Donnell Auditorium, at St. Thomas More College, on the campus of the University of Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon.
As a non-Catholic, I still found it fascinating, and was happy to discuss it with him and Andrew at breakfast the next day.
BEFORE:
INTRODUCTIONS:
THE LECTURE:
Q&A PERIOD:
POST-LECTURE:
Title photo from St. Thomas More College Website
I've known Eric McLuhan and his son Andrew for a few years now, meeting up with them at Media Ecology Association conferences throughout the world. One would think that Eric would be stuck in the shadow of his father, Marshall, but for those of us who pay attention, he is a brilliant thinker in his own right.
Referencing Marshall, as we all do (and should), whether we realize it or not, Eric has risen to high academic circles on his own and risen to the academic stratosphere with his publications about media, religion, and culture in both solo projects as well as with others, such as a recent collaboration with Dr. Peter Zhang.
Eric comes across as a bit elfin and frail, walking with a cane and being soft-spoken, but I've also seen him give heck to other academics who he believes crosses the line of what he or his dad was positing in their writing, including recently with one who had collaborated with Marshall.
For this talk, his topic was "Catholicism and Communication: The Sensus Communis, Synesthesia, and the Soul." Marshall had famously adopted Catholicism in his adulthood, and raised his family in it, so it makes sense that this would be a topic Eric would cover on his talk for the 29th Annual Michael Keenan Memorial Lecture, in Father O'Donnell Auditorium, at St. Thomas More College, on the campus of the University of Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon.
As a non-Catholic, I still found it fascinating, and was happy to discuss it with him and Andrew at breakfast the next day.
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| [photo courtesy St. Thomas More College Website] |
BEFORE:
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| Eric McLuhan and Andrew McLuhan preparing. |
INTRODUCTIONS:
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| Arul Kumaran, English Department Dean |
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| Sarah Powrie, English Department Head |
THE LECTURE:
Q&A PERIOD:
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| Tammy Marche, Associate Dean, Psychology Department |
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Thank you, Robert.
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