Past Events

In conjunction with the Townsend Center's art exhibition by Patrick Chambon, panelists explore the subject of madness in the work of renowned French philosopher Michel Foucault.

Mark Goble explores how slow motion in film and literature reveals a deep cultural fascination with the uneven speeds of modern life and our ability to comprehend them.

Fiona McFarlane's gripping collection of short stories explores the reverberations of a serial killer’s crimes in the lives of everyday people.

Television writer and creator Sanjay Shah '99 discusses the realities of entertainment writing, from breaking into the industry to running a writers' room, offering advice to students.

Prominent Russian writer Victor Erofeev offers a provocative exploration of the “new barbarism” of the 21st century, in which power eclipses justice.

Hannah Zeavin tells the complicated story of American techno-parenting, for an object lesson in how using technology in our most intimate relationships became a moral flash point.

Leaders of the National Humanities Center discuss their fellowship and research support for faculty, offering tips for writing strong proposals and seeking application support.

Avgi Saketopoulou, the 2025-26 Avenali Chair in the Humanities, engages in conversation with UC Berkeley faculty members Paola Bacchetta, Eric Stanley, and Damon Young.

Psychoanalyst and scholar Avgi Saketopoulou, the 2025-26 Avenali Chair in the Humanities, is the author of Sexuality Beyond Consent: Risk, Race, Traumatophilia.

In this bold, wide-ranging study, Martin Jay examines the conflict between “conventional” and “magical” nominalism in philosophy, history, aesthetics, and photography.