Calendar of Events
Humanities for Everyone
March 2019
The Opioid Crisis: A Historical Perspective
Today’s opioid epidemic is usually portrayed as a new and shocking development. Yet it is only the most recent crisis in more than a century of widespread addiction to pharmaceuticals. Historian David Herzberg tells the story of past epidemics of addiction and draws lessons from America’s long history of drug policy failures and occasional successes. Read More »
April 2019
Physicists’ Dream of a Theory of Everything
Theoretical physicists have long dreamt of a theory of everything that encompasses all particles of matter and their interactions. Dartmouth professor Marcelo Gleiser describes how physics and astronomy obtain knowledge of the natural world and how their limitations preclude us from ever getting to a “final” theory. Read More »
May 2019
Prosecutors and the Battle to End Mass Incarceration
Over the last 40 years, prosecutors have driven the country toward mass incarceration and a crisis of justice shot through with unfairness and racial discrimination. New York Times writer and Yale Law School lecturer Emily Bazelon considers the current movement to elect a new breed of prosecutor. Read More »
June 2019
*RESCHEDULED* Van Gogh’s Influence on Art, and Art’s Influence on Him
Art historian Carol Berry considers the experiences, painters, and authors that influenced Van Gogh’s work, and looks at his influence on twentieth-century artists. Read More »