Niel Gaiman speaking at the University of Kansas

Humanities Speaker Series

Founded in 1947, the Humanities Speaker Series is the oldest continuing program of its kind at KU. Previous speakers have included author Neil Gaiman, actor and author Alan Alda, poet A.E. Stallings, sociologist Matthew Desmond, and many others.

From Kitchens and Pubs to the World: Philosophy for Humanity Today and Beyond

Lewis Gordon (Professor, University of Connecticut)
THU FEB 22, 7:00 PM
Hall Center Conference Hall (also available online via Crowdcast)

This talk will have two parts. The first will be a reflection on the importance of everyday philosophy and the urgent need for everyone to think critically and reflectively. The second part will draw upon the first to focus on challenges that humanity faces today, in the third decade of the 21st century, especially whether our continued existence is not only viable but also worth fighting for. The lecture will explore these challenges through discussion of what addressing them entails for anyone committed to equality, freedom, justice, and lives worth living.

Gordon is professor and department head of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut, a political thinker, educator, and musician. His books include Freedom, Justice, and Decolonization and Fear of Black Consciousness. Gordon is the 2022 recipient of the Eminent Scholar Award from the Global Development Studies division of the International Studies Association.

 

2023-2024 KU Common Book Lecture: An Evening with N.K. Jemisin

N.K. Jemisin (Author)
THU APR 25, 7:30 PM
Watch via Crowdcast online

Author N. K. Jemisin will give this year’s Common Book Lecture online. The Common Book for 2023-24 is Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. Butler, who died in 2006, was influential to the career of Jemisin, a fellow science fiction writer, and Jemisin also wrote the forward to the most recent edition of Parable of the Sower.

Jemisin is the first author in the genre’s history to win three consecutive Best Novel Hugo Awards. Her work has won Nebula and Locus Awards, and she is a 2020 MacArthur Fellow. Her Great Cities duology was a New York Times bestseller. Her speculative works range from fantasy to science fiction to the undefinable; her themes include resistance to oppression, the inseverability of the liminal, and the coolness of “stuff blowing up.” She’s been an instructor for Clarion and Clarion West writing workshops. Among other critical work, she was formerly the science fiction and fantasy book reviewer at the New York Times and she has been an advocate for the long tradition of science fiction and fantasy as political resistance.

KU Common Book

Every year, Jayhawks read a single book that speaks to the current moment and sparks a campus-wide conversation. The KU Common Book program is coordinated by the KU Libraries, the Hall Center for the Humanities, and the Division of Academic Success.

Spring 2024 Speakers

Accommodations

  • Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend Hall Center sponsored events. If you require a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in any of our events, please contact Program Coordinator Eliott Reeder at eliottor@ku.edu.