Ian Bogost

Ian Bogost

Noted media studies scholar and game designer, Ian Bogost, presented three talks exploring the theory and concepts of play and games under the auspices of the 2021 Humanities Series.

Laurel Kendall

Laurel Kendall

Kendall, curator of Asian Ethnographic Collections at the American Museum of Natural History, delivered the Morrell Memorial Lecture in Asian Religions on“Gods and Things in Four Asian Places.”

Natalia Aleksiun

Natalia Aleksiun

Professor Natalia Aleksiun delivered the 2021 Holocaust Memorial Lecture on“Jewish Physicians and Their Patients: Rescue Strategies in Nazi Occupied Poland.”

Holden Thorp, Gil Eyal, Tess Lanzarotta, Damon Scott Tweedy and Yolonda Y. Wilson

Holden Thorp, Gil Eyal, Tess Lanzarotta, Damon Scott Tweedy and Yolonda Y. Wilson

A panel of leading academics discussed “Gatekeeping & the Publishing Landscape for Scholarship on Race, Medicine & Science.”

Joy Williams

Joy Williams

Legendary writer Joy Williams had a special reading and conversation about her first novel in 20 years, “Harrow.” The event also celebrated her literary papers and the “Joy Williams: Honored Guest” exhibition in Olin Library and online.

Panel of Speakers

Panel of Speakers

This two-part discussion, titled “Creating Inclusive Access to Education, Training & Technology,” featured leaders from various sectors addressing how to create more equitable access to education, training and technology in our community.

Rev. Traci Blackmon, David Campbell, Rev. Serene Jones, Rabbi Rolando Matalon and Iman Eldin Susa

Rev. Traci Blackmon, David Campbell, Rev. Serene Jones, Rabbi Rolando Matalon and Iman Eldin Susa

Americans today are deeply divided. Religion has played a crucial role in promoting conflict and polarization, yet religious communities are an essential part of bridging current social and political divides. This panel of religious leaders and experts explored ways that religious communities might become spaces that bridge divides, rather than make them deeper — bridge building that is located in a larger sense of civic engagement and community.

Severine Autesserre

Severine Autesserre

In this discussion, Severine Autesserre, award-winning author, peace builder and researcher, spoke about her new book—which draws upon in-depth field research in twelve different conflict zones to challenge popular beliefs and scholarly ideas about war, peace, and conflict resolution.

Rhonda Magee

Rhonda Magee

Rhonda Magee, Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco, delivered the inaugural lecture of the CRE2 Mindfulness & Anti-Racism series.

David Kertzer and Father John Pawlikowski

David Kertzer and Father John Pawlikowski

The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics presented a discussion of the newly unsealed Vatican archives and the role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust.

Antony Shugaar

Antony Shugaar

The 2020-2021 Paul and Silvia Rava lecture titled “Families of Worlds” featured Antony Shugaar.

Zareena Grewal

Zareena Grewal

The Quran is one of the most iconic objects in American debates about racial and religious tolerance. Is the Quran a “good book”? Is it like the Bible and other scriptures? Or is its message more violent, more misogynistic, more intolerant? Or is the danger in the power readers ascribe to the book?

John C. Danforth and Matt Malone

John C. Danforth and Matt Malone

People of faith in the U.S. today are as politically polarized as other Americans, prompting painful breakdowns in personal relationships and communities. What would it take to accept responsibility for actively healing these political and religious divisions, activating solutions rather than continuing assaults?

John C. Danforth, former U.S. Senator from Missouri; Matt Malone, president and editor-in-chief, America Media

Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, Rev. Dr. Zandra Wagoner, Rev. Traci Blackmon, J.T. Snipes

Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, Rev. Dr. Zandra Wagoner, Rev. Traci Blackmon, J.T. Snipes

This Interfaith Week discussion titled “Faith in the Fight: Organizing Interfaith & Secular Coalitions for Racial Equity & Justice.”

Brittany Packnett and Kayla Reed

Brittany Packnett and Kayla Reed

On October 24, 2019 WashU alumna, activist and educator Brittany Packnett joined organizer and strategist Kayla Reed for a conversation about the power to lead, confidence and inclusivity.

George J. Sanchez

George J. Sanchez

This lecture addressed a career of producing humanities Ph.D. students who are actively committed to public scholarship that explores questions of race, gender, and economic divides in Los Angeles through mentorship, training, and scholarly engagement.

Nicole Garnett

Nicole Garnett

Nicole Garnett, the John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame, delivered remarks on ‘The Value of Educational Pluralism.’

Nadine Strossen

Nadine Strossen

To mark the beginning of the 2019-2020 academic year, the Washington University in St. Louis community came together on Monday, August 26, 2019 for ‘Reflections, Unity, Social Justice, and Peace.’

Kim Gardner

Kim Gardner

Gardner was elected St. Louis Circuit Attorney in 2017, after serving as a Missouri House Representative from the 77th District. She received national attention last year for her role inpursuing the investigation into alleged unlawful activities by Missouri governor Eric Greitens, leading to his resignation.

Wesley Bell

Wesley Bell

Ferguson Councilman Wesley Bell’s recent upset of Robert McCulloch’s 28-year-run as St. Louis County Prosecutor was a stunning victory for the underdog running on a platform to reform its criminal justice system.

Jean Peters Baker

Jean Peters Baker

Throughout her long tenure in the Jackson County prosecutor’s office, Baker has served in nearly every unit. In 2012 she was elected as its leader.

Adam Foss

Adam Foss

A brief rundown of Adam Foss’s early years shows a trajectory that aligns with his choices as an adult: Born in Columbia and adopted by an Irish-American family from Massachusetts; experienced childhood as one of color in a small town; arrested at age 19 for marijuana possession but got off easy because his father was a white police officer; was a first-generation college student; took a class on restorative justice which inspired him to seek a law degree; interned at a small municipal court in an impoverished and dangerous Boston neighborhood.

Michael Pollan

Michael Pollan

Through his several books on the growth, preparation and consumption of food, Michael Pollan has shown us the way toward food enlightenment. Now with his 8th book, he is leading us on another enlightened journey, one that holds the promise of peace of mind for millions suffering from serious mental disorders such as PTSD.

Michael Barbaro

Michael Barbaro

The proliferation and popularity of podcasts — especially among millennials — have created many new media stars, but few are shining as brightly as Barbaro, the host of The Daily, the New York Times’ entry into the podisphere with millions of devoted listeners. It was the most-downloaded new show on Apple Podcasts last year, with five million listeners a month at last count, and will more than one million tuning in each day.

Tarana Burke

Tarana Burke

It may seem as though the #metoo hashtag campaign came out of nowhere; in fact, it was 25 years in the making, built on the back of Tarana Burke’s lifelong dedication to developing support structures for young women of color who survived sexual violence. Burke was lifted from relative obscurity at the January 2018 broadcast of the Golden Globe Awards when she joined actresses Michelle Williams and Reese Witherspoon on stage to announce the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund for victims of sexual violence and inequality in the workplace.

Qiu Xiaolong

Qiu Xiaolong

Novelist and filmmaker Dai was born in Chengdu, Sichuan in 1954. He moved to France in 1984 on a scholarship to study art, then turned to filmmaking. Before writing “Balzac,” in French, he made three critically-acclaimed films.

Christine Van den Wyngaert

Christine Van den Wyngaert

For her dedication as a judge, Van den Wyngaert, a native of Antwerp, Belgium, was ennobled in 2013 as a baroness by King Albert II of Belgium.

Ervin Scholars

Ervin Scholars

In 1987, Washington University welcomed its inaugural class of 11 John B. Ervin Scholars. Thirty years on, more than 600 Ervin Scholars have graduated, and many of them will converge on campus to attend the 30th anniversary conference.

Christopher Newfield

Christopher Newfield

Christopher Newfield says America is undergoing an educational crisis. He claims that for the first time in our history, we are graduating a generation that is less well educated than the one that preceded it.

Mike Parker Pearson

Mike Parker Pearson

British archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson and his research team had unprecedented access to Stonehenge and its surroundings, and his research findings are replacing centuries of speculation with facts. He will share them at an Assembly Series program at 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 27, in Steinberg Hall Auditorium.

Robert Sussman

Robert Sussman

“The anthropological concept of culture is extremely important and often misunderstood because many of the things that are assumed to be biologically determined, like criminality or homosexuality or IQ, are really behaviorally and societally defined.” This quote from Robert W. Sussman, PhD, professor of physical anthropology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University, forms the basis for his Phi Beta Kappa/Sigma Xi Lecture. “The Importance of the Concept of Culture to Science and Society,” part of the university’s Assembly Series, will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, in Steinberg Hall Auditorium.

Stephen Prothero

Stephen Prothero

In Stephen Prothero’s talk, “Why Liberals Win: America’s Culture Wars from the Election of 1800 to Same-Sex Marriage,” he asserts that religion lies at the heart of our American identity and, unless we become religiously literate, it will continue to divide us as a nation.

Roderick Ferguson

Roderick Ferguson

The James E. McLeod Memorial Lecturer, Roderick Ferguson, discussed “The University and the Combinations of Heart and Mind” on September 29, 2014, in Umrath Hall Lounge. The McLeod Lecture is presented annually by the Center for the Humanities and addresses topics concerning diversity and higher education.

Carla Power

Carla Power

On April 14, 2015 at 5 p.m. in Umrath Hall Lounge, veteran journalist Carla Power talked about “Reading the Quran at Starbucks: An American Secular Feminist and a Traditional Muslim Scholar Find Commonalities.”

Eddie Huang

Eddie Huang

Eddie Huang’s story is at once singular and universal, for many children of immigrants must find their own way within two often conflicting cultures, but he forged his own path to success. Now he tells his own story: The story of a bright, brash and ambitious Taiwanese kid who never allowed anyone to define him.

Melvin Oliver

Melvin Oliver

Melvin Oliver’s long and distinguished career has been devoted to understanding and addressing the complex factors that contribute to deep racial disparities in wealth. On Wednesday, Sept. 16, he will give a talk on “Income and Wealth Inequality.” The lecture will be held at 4:30 p.m. in Anheuser-Busch Hall, Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom.

Radiolab

Radiolab

On February 26, 4:30 p.m. in Graham Chapel, Radiolab hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich talked about “Celebrating Curiosity – Celebrating Arts & Sciences.”

Reza Aslan

Reza Aslan

On February 17, 2015 at 6 p.m. in Graham Chapel, Reza Aslan, delivered the Washington University Foreign Policy Engagement Lecture on faith, extremism and democracy.

Ruth Simmons

Ruth Simmons

On September 30, 2014, Ruth Simmons, the 18th president of Brown University and the first African-American president of an Ivy League university, talked about “The State of Conscience in University Life Today.”

Susan  Wolf

Susan Wolf

In thinking about what we want for ourselves and for those about whom we care, we tend to think in terms of the categories of self-interest and morality. We want, in other words, to be both happy and good. These categories, however, leave something out: an interest that our lives be meaningful.