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Renaissance man
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“I’ve always been interested in the philosophical, cultural and religious dimensions of science within a larger social context.”
It seems fitting that James Bono’s historical focus begins in the late Renaissance period. His wide range of interests not only embodies the far-reaching Renaissance sensibility, but also helps drive the transdisciplinary initiative that powers UB 2020’s strategic strengths.
Bono is an associate professor in the departments of History and Medicine, and recently assumed the history chair. He teaches world civilizations and early modern Europe to history students, medical ethics and humanities to medical students and also works with students in English, Romance languages, anthropology and other areas.
Even religion enters his realm of study. Bono just drafted the second volume of “The Word of God and the Languages of Man: Interpreting Nature in Early Modern Science and Medicine.”
“I’ve always been interested in the philosophical, cultural and religious dimensions of science within a larger social context,” he explains. “One of the areas is religion and science, which obviously has some resonance with contemporary concerns and issues as well.”
Historical perspective remains a common denominator among Bono’s broad reach. “As a historian of science, I’ve always been interested in literary narrative and metaphorical dimensions of science, scientific inquiry and medicine as well,” he relates. “Even though I don’t teach history in the school of medicine, I bring the perspective of the historian to the kind of questions that I think medical students need to be grappling with.”
The interdisciplinary environment at UB has long impressed the Harvard Ph.D., who previously taught at the University of Michigan. “What I’ve always found so wonderful and exciting is that the boundaries and borders between different departments and disciplines are much more permeable here than they are in many other institutions,” he observes. “One can participate in a larger academic and intellectual life, and indeed it’s encouraged here.”
The culmination of this collaborative initiative for Bono has been the creation of UB’s Humanities Institute, for which he has served on the executive committee since its inception four years ago. The institute sponsors a diverse range of programs and research projects to promote cross-disciplinary collaboration and create a vibrant intellectual community among UB students, faculty and the citizens of Buffalo Niagara.
“I’ve really come to value the way in which the Humanities Institute has helped to further reinforce and knit together the interests of the faculty and graduate students from many different departments,” he says. “They find themselves opening up to communities beyond their individual departments and that’s really very important and exciting. It’s an expression of what UB has been about and the direction in which it’s going.”
Bono is a proponent of UB 2020 and a big area booster since arriving in Buffalo in 1984 with his wife, Barbara, an associate professor and former chair of the Department of English. The Convention and Visitors Bureau, in fact, named him a Buffalo Ambassador for his work organizing conventions for the School of Medicine and Biomedical Science’s sesquicentennial and the annual conference of the national Society for Literature, Science and the Arts.
The Bonos’ sons are proud graduates of the Buffalo Public Schools. Joe, 30, works for Microsoft in Seattle, and John, 21, is a junior in the Department of Media Study.
As new history chair, Bono describes his role as “simply a facilitator for my colleagues. The history department has always been strong in getting a real influx of new blood on all levels and that has made it an even more vibrant, active and interesting department that is well regarded in the university. I want to maintain that and see the department grow modestly in the near future.”
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