The Una’s Lectures were endowed in 1969 as part of the Una’s Gift by Mr. Edward Hunter Ross in honor of his wife, Una Smith Ross. In keeping with her wishes, the Una’s Gift is an endowment for inviting distinguished scholars in the field of the humanities to Berkeley for the purpose of delivering one or more lectures, meeting with faculty and students in their fields of study, and conducting or participating in seminars and colloquia. The gift also supports graduate student fellowships, awarded to female students working on historical projects.
The Una’s Lectures have been administered by the Townsend Center since 1987.
Past Lectures
Art historian Alexander Nemerov is the author of many books, including Fierce Poise: Helen Frankenthaler and 1950s New York, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for biography and named by Vogue one of the best books of the year.
Political theorist Bonnie Honig is Nancy Duke Lewis Professor of Modern Culture & Media and Political Science at Brown University.
Filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul, the 2022-23 Una’s Lecturer, is joined in conversation by writer and UC Berkeley teaching professor Hilton Als.
Amanda Anderson is Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Humanities and English and director of the Cogut Institute for the Humanities at Brown University.