Past Events

Bruce Ackerman is Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, and the author of over fifteen books that have had a broad influence in political philosophy, constitutional law, and public policy.

Panel Discussants: Greil Marcus, Shannon Steen (Theater, Dance and Performance Studies) and Bryan Wagner (English)
Moderator: Anthony J. Cascardi (Townsend Center Director)

Music journalist and cultural critic Greil Marcus is noted for his scholarly and literary work connecting rock & roll to political and social history.

Strange Culture follows the surreal nightmare of acclaimed artist Steve Kurtz that began when his wife Hope died in her sleep of heart failure. Local police who responded to Kurtz's 911 call deemed his art—which explores germ warfare and genetically-modified foods—to be suspicious and called the FBI. Within hours, the artist was detained as a suspected bioterrorist, and dozens of federal agents in Hazmat suits sifted through his work and impounded his computers, manuscripts, books, his cat, and even his wife’s body.

Manufactured Landscapes is the striking documentary on the world and work of renowned artist Edward Burtynsky. Internationally acclaimed for his large-scale photographs of “manufactured landscapes”—quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines, and dams—Burtynsky creates stunningly beautiful art from civilization’s materials and debris. The film follows him through China, as he shoots the evidence and effects of that country’s massive industrial revolution.

Azar Nafisi’s work focuses on the political implications of literature and culture, as well as the human rights of Iranian women and girls and the important role they play in the process of change for pluralism and an open society in Iran.

Robert Lepage’s dynamic and original approach constantly pushes the boundaries of theatrical performance, most notably with the use of new technologies. Drawing inspiration from contemporary life, Lepage has influenced a generation of artists and practitioners with work that engages controversial topics such as language, sexuality, and the act of creation itself.

Stefan Collini has written widely on 19th- and 20th-century intellectual history and literature; his books include Public Moralists: Political Thought and Intellectual Life in Britain 1850-1930; Matthew Arnold: A Critical Portrait; and Absent Minds: Intellectuals in Britain.