Past Events

Azar Nafisi, Author

“The Republic of the Imagination”
Forum on the Humanities & the Public World
| Zellerbach Hall

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, Playwright & Director

“Performing Past and Present”
Forum on the Humanities & the Public World
| Berkeley Art Museum Theater, 2621 Durant Ave.

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, Intellectual History and English Literature, University of Cambridge

“Recognition and Persuasion: The Literary Critic as Cultural Critic”
Forum on the Humanities & the Public World
| Townsend Center, 220 Stephens Hall

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 1850-1930Matthew Arnold: A Critical Portrait; and Absent Minds: Intellectuals in Britain.

<em>Zizek!</em> (2005)

Directed by Astra Taylor
Depth of Field Film + Video
| Geballe Room, 220 Stephens Hall

 

Lynn Hunt, History, UCLA

“Inventing Human Rights”
Forum on the Humanities & the Public World
| Geballe Room, 220 Stephens Hall

Lynn Hunt’s specialties include the French Revolution, gender history, cultural history and historiography. Her books on the French Revolution include Politics, Culture, and Class in the French Revolution and The Family Romance of the French Revolution.

<em>Derrida</em> (2002)

Directed by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering Kofman
Depth of Field Film + Video
| Geballe Room, 220 Stephens Hall

 

Philip Kan Gotanda and Carey Perloff, American Conservatory Theater

“After the War”
Forum on the Humanities & the Public World
| Maude Fife Room, 315 Wheeler Hall

In the world premiere of After the War, commissioned and developed by A.C.T. under the direction of Carey Perloff, Philip Kan Gotanda portrays an unexpected grouping of characters as they struggle to revive a community shattered by the effects of the war.

Alfred Brendel, Author & Pianist

“In Conversation”
Forum on the Humanities & the Public World
| Great Hall, Bancroft Hotel

Alfred Brendel’s accomplishments as an interpreter of the great composers have earned him a place among the world’s most revered musicians. He is the first pianist to have recorded all of Beethoven’s piano compositions and one of the few to have recorded the complete Mozart piano concertos.