“For several years now, grad students and faculty in the Bay Area and throughout GFM chapters have been doing short “TED” style talks integrating their faith and work. From now on, we invite you to call them ‘Square Inch Seminars’.
This name was coined by the InterVarsity Grad Chapter at Stanford. They were inspired by Abraham Kuyper’s quote – ‘… there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!'
The name reminds us of Christ’s lordship and authority over all. Thus the scope of the name is broad - almost anything a student or faculty is passionate about and every aspect of the academic life could be included. At the same time, the name honors and gives meaning to the each academic’s little “square-inch” domain. In the words of volunteer and recent IV Grad alum, Prescott Bliss, “… it's easy to feel like our research is too niche and therefore worthless, but because Jesus claims it as his, it is intrinsically meaningful”. For our non-Christian friends, the name invites conversation between people who are otherwise increasingly isolated by specialization and segmentation, huddled in their little square-inch-sized corners of interest. It is an invitation to our friends and colleagues to come and see the possibilities of unity and diversity in Christ.
As grad student Jonathan Love explains –
The name highlights the diversity in our interests and pursuits, pointing out that our own area is, in fact, just a tiny piece of a much larger picture. But at the same time, we validate that tiny piece. We hold up a magnifying glass to one of these square inches, to dive in and explore the intrinsic value it has for the person who's chosen to invest in it. We listen to people sharing about their square inches not only to get a bigger, more holistic picture of what all is out there (escaping temporarily from our own little square inch), but also to establish a deeper connection with someone who is doing something possibly very different from us, both in terms of what they do and why they do it. A square inch seminar says "your unique area of specialization matters, and I want to hear about what it means to you."
Why the change?
Up to this point, we have been calling these talks “Passion Talks”, a name chosen by one of our Bay Area students. She has now graduated, and since then, has also been running “Passion Talks” conferences in the Bay Area under the auspices of a separate non-profit. It has now grown into a conference that goes outside the reach of students and academia, and we wish them well. If you’d like to know more, here is their website - https://passiontalks.wordpress.com/.
Whilst we can and will continue to encourage our students and faculty to do these short talks, we have very recently been notified that we must cease using the name “Passion Talks”. Thus if you and your chapters are doing these talks, please cease using this name, particularly in your publicity, immediately.
In its place, the students of IV Grad at Stanford have generously and explicitly given their permission for GFM to use the name “Square Inch Seminars”. (You’re also welcome to modify the name as appropriate to your event, e.g. Square Inch Talks, Square Inch Papers, etc. though the students believe the word “seminar” is broad enough to cover most academic settings.) We’re excited by how the name invites questions, and how the idea of “seminars” invokes the academic seminars that are the everyday experience of our students and faculty and the communal discussions that occur within them. And for those of you who are concerned – yes, they did debate whether they should go metric!
So please keep encouraging your students and faculty to do these talks! And enjoy this new name.”
