Townsend Events

Why do we look away from the suffering of others, cover our faces in shame, and lower our heads in grief? Benjamin Saltzman explores these gestures in art, poetry, and philosophy as an essential language for our uncomfortable engagements with the world.

9:45–10 am: Welcome

10–11:15: Who We Are(n’t): The Role of Narrative in Constructing Identity
This panel examines various works of global narrative prose that negotiate what it means to be, both as an individual and as a collective.