Past Events

David Simon is a Baltimore-based author, journalist and writer-producer of television specializing in criminal justice and urban issues.

Homi K. Bhabha is Anne F. Rothenberg Professor of English and American Literature and Language and Director of the Humanities Center at Harvard University. Considered one of the most important figures in postcolonial studies, Bhabha introduced the concepts of hybridity, mimicry, difference, and ambivalence to the field.

One of the world’s preeminent photographers, Sally Mann first came to international prominence in 1992 with “Immediate Family,” a controversial series of complex, enigmatic, and sensual pictures of her own children. What Remains follows the creation of Mann’s new seminal work: a photo series revolving around various aspects of death and decay.

Debuting with the New York Philharmonic at the age of 16, Leon Fleisher’s career as a pianist was on a smooth upward trajectory for many years; he performed all over the world with every major orchestra and conductor and recorded several classic albums.

Panel Discussants: Elaine Pagels, Daniel Boyarin (Near Eastern Studies and Rhetoric) and Susanna Elm (History and Classics)
Moderator: Anthony J. Cascardi (Townsend Center Director)

Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University, Elaine Pagels is well known for her work in the field of religious studies and theology. She first gained recognition for her research disproving the myth of the early Christian Church as a unified movement—in The Gnostic Gospels, she provides analysis of 52 early Christian manuscripts that show the pluralistic nature of the early church and the role of women in the developing Christian movement.

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.