Meet the Faculty: Q&A with Dr. Rory Conces

Dr. Rory Conces is Associate Professor of Philosophy and a member of the Graduate, Religious Studies, International Studies, Islamic Studies, and Sustainability faculties at UNO. He is currently the Director of the Human Right Studies Minor Program and the Curriculum Committee Director of the Goldstein Human Rights Studies Center.

Dr. Conces has been a part of the Master of Arts in Critical and Creative Thinking since its inception in 2015 and began teaching in the program in the Spring of 2016.

What do you enjoy most about teaching a course that’s part of the MACCT program?

I enjoy the exchange of ideas with our students. Many of the reading assignments are quite unfamiliar to them, so I like helping them navigate through "unchartered waters." Being able to engage more complicated readings and ideas with students is exciting. And the learning that occurs goes both ways--I learn a great deal from our exchanges, which occasionally has even impacted my own research on evocative objects and peacebuilding. I greatly appreciate that aspect of our exchanges.

What has surprised you most about working with MACCT students?

Our students are generally very serious and enjoy being guided, nudged, pulled, and pushed by me down avenues that they are unaccustomed to being taken. I also tell them early on that they can challenge me, and they often do. I think that makes for a better learning community, one in which we all work well with one another. I also appreciate how their creativity and imagination helps to provide a fresh set of eyes on the topics we discuss.

Tell us two interesting things about yourself.

A few things that my students learn about me over the course of a semester is that I enjoy traveling and living overseas and I am an avid urban runner and photographer. I usually combine work with pleasure when I travel internationally. Besides lecturing in many European countries and China, I was fortunate enough to be the recipient of Fulbright Scholar awards to Bosnia (2001) and Kosovo (2008). These experiences were transformative for me both professionally and personally, defining my research agenda and giving me deep friendships.

These overseas experiences have also included perhaps my only "hobbies": urban running and photography. Last summer I ran in the heat of Kosovo and in the frigid winds of Iceland. Now I am back in Omaha, where I log five runs a week, running from one neighborhood to another and enjoying what I see, hear, and smell in each. Along the way, I often stop to photograph cityscapes. Two of my three sons also enjoy these hobbies, and perhaps the three grandchildren will follow in our footsteps.