HUMANITIES RESEARCH CENTER

The humanities explore how people understand and tell stories about the human experience, including literature, philosophy, history, the arts, and related disciplines.

2019/2020 SPEAKERS

Each year, special speakers discuss topics of public interest and debate. We invite you to attend our events.

Our Speakers

Kenneth A. Taylor

Wed. Sept. 18, 2019

Kenneth A. Taylor is the Henry Waldgrave Stuart Professor of Philosophy at Stanford University and the director of Stanford’s Symbolic Systems Program. Specializing in the Philosophy of Mind and the Philosophy of Language, Dr. Taylor is the author of three books and dozens of articles.

Stephen Greenblatt

Wed. Oct. 16, 2019

Stephen Greenblatt is the John Cogan University Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University. A Shakespeare scholar, Professor Greenblatt teaches a wide range of courses in early modern literature and culture. He is credited with originating the literary theory known as the “new historicism,” which portends that literature must be analyzed by understanding the cultural context from which it sprang.

Wendy Chun

Wed. March 25, 2020

Dr. Wendy Hui Kyong Chun is the Canada 150 Research Chair in New Media at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia where she also leads the Digital Democracies Group. Her scholarly work focuses on three key areas of investigation (1) cultural formations and technological artifacts, (2) theoretical concepts in the humanistic and technological disciplines, and (3) popular perceptions of technology and technological protocols.