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University and Messenger Lectures (1960-Present)

For a listing of lectures from 1924 to 1960, click here.

  Name Lecture Title Date
Scott de la Hunta '84
Research Fellow, ARTI Group, Amsterdam School of the Arts
"The Choreographic Resource: Technologies for Interpreting Dance" F'08
Shelia Jasanoff
Professor of Science & Technology Studies, Harvard University
"After Enlightenment: Rethinking Science's Place in Democracy" F'08
Garry Wills
Professor, Northwestern University, Pulitzer Prize Winning Author
"Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858), One Hundred Fifty Years Later (2008)" F'08
Marita Sturken
Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication, New York University
"Consuming Security: Defensive Design in the Comfort Culture of Everyday Life" F'08
anselm haverkamp Anselm Haverkamp
Professor of English and Director of the Poetics & Theory Program, New York University
"To Conceive of, in Pictures: Episodes from the History of Knowledge" S '08
robert duke Robert Duke
Professor in Music &
Human Learning, University of Texas, Austin
"Why Don't Students Learn What We Think We Teach" S '08
nancy fraser Nancy Fraser
Professor of Philosophy and Politics, The New School of Social Research
"Disputing the Subject of Justice: National Citizenry, Global Humanity, or Transnational Community of Risk?" S '08
michel balinski Michel Balinski Professor Emeritus, Ecole Polytechnique, Paris "Representing, Electing, and Ranking" F '07
mandyam srinivasan Mandyam Srinivasan
Professor of Visual Neuroscience, Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland
"Small Brains, Smart Minds: Vision, Navigation, and 'Cognition' in Honeybees and Applications to Robotics" F '07
speciosa wandira Speciosa Wandira former Ugandan Vice President "Achieving Freedom from Hunger, Poverty, and Poor Health in Sub-Saharan Africa: Priorities for Research and Public Policy F '07
sir martin rees Sir Martin Rees
Astronomer Royal, University of Cambridge, UK
"Science and Survival in the 21st Century" S '05
francis fukuyama Francis Fukuyama
Johns Hopkins University
"The State After September 11" S '03
janet halley Janet Halley
Harvard Law School
"Sexuality Harassment/Same Sex Marriage" F '01
norman myers Norman Myers
Consultant in Environment & Development
"Environmental and Conservation Issues for the New Millenium" S '01
david j.p. barker David J.P. Barker
University of Southampton
"Early Life Experiences and Adult Disease" F '00
gerald fink Gerald R. Fink
Director, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
"We're Off to See the Genome" S '99
judith butler Judith Butler
Chancellor's Professor, University of California at Berkeley
"Psychoanalysis, Politics, and Kinship" F '98
rex nettleford Hon. Rex Nettleford
Dpty. Vice Chancellor & Prof. of Continuing Studies, Univ. of W. Indies, Mona, Jamaica
"Cultural Identity and Development: A Caribbean Perspective" F '97
byron s.j. weng Byron S.J. Weng
Prof. of Government & Public Administration, Chinese Univ. of Hong Kong
"China's One Country, Two Systems' Policy and Its Implications for Sino-American Relations" F '96
clifton r wharton Clifton R. Wharton
Frmr. Deputy Secretary of State
"Presidential Politics and Foreign Policy: Diminishing America's Global Stature" S '96
helen vendler Helen Vendler
Professor of English, Harvard University
"Shakespeare's Sonnets" F '95
ross chambers Ross Chambers
Prof. of French and Comparative Literature, University of Michigan
"Aspects of Literature" S '95
leo bersani Leo Bersani
Class of 1950 Professor of French, University of California at Berkeley
"Homos" F '94
martha nussbaum Martha Nussbaum
University Professor & Professor of Philosophy and Classics, Brown University
"Upheavals of Thought: A Theory of the Emotions" S '94
ronald takaki Ronald Takaki
Professor of Ethnic Studies, University of California at Berkeley
"A Past Re-Visioned: The Making of Multicultural America" F '93
bruno latour Bruno Latour
Professor at the Ecole National Superieure des Mines, Paris
"From Baboons to Nuclear Plants: A Common Geneaology for Technology and Society" S'93
peter brooks Peter Brooks
Professor of Humanities, Yale University
"The Place of the Body in Modern Narrative" F '92
maynard solomon Maynard Solomon
Professor of Music, Julliard
"Mozart: A Family Portrait" S '92
terrence sejnowski Terrence Sejnowski
Professor of Biology & Physics, UCSD and the Salk Institute
"The Computational Brain" F '91
john comaroff

jean comaroff
John & Jean Comaroff
Professors of Anthropology, University of Chicago
"Christianity, Colonialism, and Consciousness in South Africa" S '91
sir roger penrose Sir Roger Penrose
Professor of Mathematics, Oxford University
"Three Worlds and Three Mysteries" F '90
  Myles Burnyeat
Senior Research Fellow, All Souls College, UK
"Freedom, Anger, and Tranquility: An Archeaology of Feeling" S '90
susan moller okin Susan Moller Okin
Professor of Politics, Brandeis University
"The Public/Domestic Dichotomy" F '89
  Peter H. Nye
Professor Emeritus, Plant Science, Oxford University
"Towards the Quantitative Control of Crop Production and Quality" S '89
  Bert Vallee
Professor of Biochemical and Biophysical Sciences & Medicine, Harvard University
"How Zinc Affects Biology and Medicine and the Fundamentals of Our Lives" F '88
houston baker Houston Baker
Professor of English & Human Relations, University of Pennsylvania
"Workings of the Spirit: The Poetics of Afro-American Women's Writing" S '88
carl friedrich von weizsacker Baron Carl Friedrich von Weizsacker
Emeritus Professor of Physics & Philosophy, Universities of Munich & Hamburg
"Philosophical and Political Consequences of Modern Science" F '87
charles tilly Charles Tilly
Professor of Sociology & History, New School for Social Research
"War, States, and Collection Action" S '87
  Irving Janis
Professor of Psychology, Yale University
"Crisis Decision-Making in the Nuclear Age" F '86
edward said Edward Said
Professor of English & Comparative Literature, Columbia University
"Culture and Imperialism" S '86
ernst mayr Ernst Mayr
Professor Emeritus, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
"Evolutionary Biology and Philosophy" F '85
john e casida John E. Casida
Professor of Entomology, University of California at Berkeley
"Retrospective and Prospect Views on Chemicals, Man, and the Environment" S '85
jurgen habermas Jurgen Habermas
Director, Max Planck Institute, Munich
"Discourse on Modernity" F '84
herbert york Herbert York
Professor of Physics, University of California, San Diego
"The Nuclear Arms Race" S '84
quentin skinner Quentin Skinner
Professor of Political Science, University of Cambridge, UK
"The Idea of Liberty: Classical and Contemporary Perspectives" F' 83
maarten brands Maarten Brands
Professor of Modern History, University of Amsterdam
"Re-Inventing Europe" S '83
paul deman Paul de Man
Professor of French & Comparative Literature, Yale University
"Rhetoric Aesthetics" S '83
john noonan John T. Noonan, Jr
Professor of Law, University of California at Berkeley
"Bribery" S '82
patrick suppes Patrick Suppes
Professor of Philosophy, Stanford University
"Rationality" F '81
donald kennedy Donald Kennedy
President, Stanford University
"Health, Science, and Regulation" F '80
rosemary cramp Rosemary Cramp
Professor of Art & Archaeology, Durham University, UK
"The Viking Achievement" F '80
robert j lifton Robert J. Lifton
Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University
"From Healer to Killer: The Doctors of Auschwitz" S '80
walter ong Walter J. Ong
Professors of English & Humanities in Psychiatry, Saint Louis University
"Contest, Sexuality, and Consciousness" F '79
marvin minsky Marvin Minsky
Professor of Science, Computer Science Dept., MIT
"The Construction of the Mind" S '79
  Arthur Kantrowitz
Chairmain, AVCO-Everett Research Laboratory, Inc.
"A Technologist Looks at Anti-Technology" F' 78
  Jean Seznec
Professor of French Literature, University of Oxford
"Revival and Metamorphoses of the Gods in Nineteenth Century Art and Literature" S '78
david grene David Grene
Professor of Social Thought, University of Chicago
"Shakespeare: Politics, History, and Poetry" F '77
rene girard Rene Girard
Professor of French & the Humanities, Johns Hopkins University
"Sacrifice, Symbolic Thought and Judeo-Christian Culture" S '77
noam chomsky Noam Chomsky
Professor of Linguistics & Philosophy, MIT
"Concepts of Language" F '76
edward o wilson Edward O. Wilson
Professor of Zoology, Harvard University
"Sociobiology" S '76
walle j h nauta Walle J.H. Nauta
Professor of Psychology, MIT
"Mammalian Behavior and the Anatomy of the Brain" F '75
charles rosen Charles Rosen
Pianist & Writer
"Music and the Perspectives of Historical Criticism" S '75
  Zhores Medvedev
Soviet Biologist & Critic
"Intellectual Dissent in the Soviet Union" S '74
  Harry Bober
Professor of the Humanities, New York University
"Celtic Illuminated Manuscripts: Enigmas and Mysteries" S'74
elting morison Elting Morison
Killian Professor of th Class of 1926, MIT
"Toward a Technologically Fixed Society" S '73
garrett hardin Garrett Hardin
Professor of Biology, University of California at Santa Barbara
"The Value and Dignity of Life" F '72
  C.T. deWit
Professor of Theoretical Production Ecology, Agricultural University, the Netherlands
"Theoretical Production Ecology: An Attempt Toward Integration" S '72
  David Daube
Professor of Law, University of California at Berkeley
"Civil Disobedience in Antiquity" F '71
jerzy neyman Jerzy Neyman
Professor of Statistics, University of California at Berkeley
"A Statistician's Experience in Three Domains of Science: Astronomy, Cancer, and Weather Modification" S '71
oswei temkin Oswei Temkin
Professor of the History of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University
"Galenism: Rise and Decline of a Medical Philosophy" F '70
yigael yadin Yigael Yadin
Professor of Archaeology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem
"From the Hasmoneans to Bar-Kochba: Archaelogical Findings and Finds in the Wilderness of Judea" F '69
samuel beer Samuel H. Beer
Professor of Government, Harvard University
"The Politics of American Federalism" F '69
michel jouvet md Michel Jouvet, M.D.
Faculty of Medicine, University of Lyons, France
"Sleep and Dreams" F '68
henry eyring Henry Eyring
Professor of Chemistry & Metallurgy, University of Utah
"The Scientific Models We Live By" S '68
  Dame Helen Louise Gardner
Professor of English Literature, University of Oxford, UK
"Shakespeare's Tragic Art" F '67
madame jacqueline de romilly Madame Jacqueline de Romilly
Professor of Greek, The Sorbonne
"Aspects of Time in Greek Tragedy" S '67
  A. Frey-Wyssling
Department of General Botany & Electron Microscopy, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
"Ultra-Structural Cell Organization" F '65
richard feynman Richard Feynman
Professor of Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology
"The Character of Physical Law" F '64
c. vann woodward C. Vann Woodward
Professor of History, Yale University
"The First Reconstruction in Light of the Second" S '64
kingsley davis Kingsley Davis
Professor of Sociology, University of California at Berkeley
"New Perspectives on Population: Change and Response in Modern Demographic History" F '63
h.l.a. hart H.L.A. Hart
Professor of Jurisprudence, University of Oxford, UK
"Mind and Deed in the Law" S '63
alexander hollaender Alexander Hollaender
Director, Biology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
"Some Basic Problems in Radiation Biology" F '62
harry harlow Harry Harlow
Professor of Psychology, University of Wisconsin
"The Nature of Love and Affection in Primates" F '61
  William Haller
Professor of English, Barnard College, Columbia University
"The Elect Nation on Puritanism Reconsidered" S '61
meyer shapiro Meyer Shapiro
Professor of Fine Arts, Columbia University
"Abstract Painting" S '60

University and Messenger Lectures (1924-1960)

1960-1961
Frey Hoyle, Astronomy, University of Cambridge
1959-1960
Linus Pauling, Chemistry, California Institute of Technology
1959-1960
Arthur F. Burns, Economics, Columbia University
1958-1959
V. B. Wigglesworth, Zoology, University of Cambridge
1957-1958
G. Pontecorvo, Genetics, University of Glasgow
1957-1958
Paul Tillich, Religion, Harvard University
1956-1957
K.C. Guthrie, Classics, University of Cambridge
1956-1957
Alfred L. Kroeber, Anthropology, University of California
1955-1956
Edward C. Kirkland, History, Bowdoin College
1955-1956
Arthur J. Altmeyer, Louis I. Dublin, Edward J. Stieglitz, Gerontology
1954-1955
Phillip H. Kuenan, Submarine Geology, Gronigen, the Netherlands
1954-1955
Alpheus T. Mason, Government, Princeton University
1953-1954
Luther Gulick, Public Administration, New York
1953-1954
C. B. Van Niel, Bacteriology, Stanford University
1952-1953
Joseph Wood Krutch, Drama, Columbia University
1952-1953
Theodore von Karman, Engineering, California Institute of Technology
1951-1952
Otto Struve, Astronomy, Yerkes Observatory
1951-1952
Robert Redfield, Anthropology, University of Chicago
1950-1951
W. F. Albright, Archaeology, Johns Hopkins University
1950-1951
Thomas A. Bailey, Russian-American Relations, Stanford University
1950-1951
J. C. Clausen, Botany, Stanford University
1949-1950
Otto Neugebauer, History of Mathematics, Brown University
1949-1950
Vincent du Vigneaud, Biochemistry, Cornell Medical College
1948-1949
Otto Kinkeldey, Musicology, Harvard University
1948-1949
Harvey Fletcher, Acoustics, Bell Telephone Laboratories
1947-1948
Howard Mumford Jones, American Literature, Harvard University
1947-1948
Catherine Bauer, Housing, University of Cambridge
1947-1948
Marjorie Nicolson, English Literature, Columbia University
1946-1947
Sumner Slichter, Economics, Harvard University
1945-1946
Hu Shih, History of Chinese Philosophy, Peking
1945-1946
J. R. Oppenheimer, Atomic Physics, California Inst. Of Technology
1945-1946
C. C. Little, L. H. Snyder, H. J. Muller, Gene
1944-1945
Douglas Bush, English Literature, Harvard University
1944-1945
T. R. McConnell, W. H. Cowley, W. DeVane, Higher Education
1944-1945
Charles E. Kellogg, Agronomy, U.S. Department of Agriculture
1944-1945
Lydia J. Roberts, Nutrition, University of Chicago
1943-1944
Griffith Taylor, Geography, Toronto
1942-1943
Carl Becker, Cornell History, Cornell University
1942-1943
H. Peyre, French Literature, Yale University
1941-1942
H. M. Evans, Endocrinology, University of California
1941-1942
T. M. River and others, Virus Diseases, Rockefeller Institute
1940-1941
F. A. Pottle, Modern Poetry, Yale University
1940-1941
H. E. Sigerist, History of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University
1939-1940
T. D. Kendrick, Archaeology, British Museum
1938-1939
G. P. Adams, Philosophy, University of California
1938-1939
G. H. McIlwain, History of Political Theory, Harvard University
1937-1938
E. J. Dent, Musicology, University of Cambridge
1936-1937
Isiah Bowman, Geography, Johns Hopkins University
1936-1937
Robert Hegner, Parasitology, Johns Hopkins University
1935-1936
W. M. Calder, History of Christianity, University of Edinburgh
1934-1935
W. C. Mitchell, Economics, Columbia University
1933-1934
Sir Arthur Eddington, Astronomy, University of Cambridge
1932-1933
B. Malinowski, Anthropology, London
1931-1932
F. J. Mather, Fine Arts, Princeton University
1930-1931
T. H. Morgan, Genetics, California Institute of Technology
1929-1930
Roscoe Pound, Law, Harvard University
1928-1929
E. L. Thorndike, Psychology, Columbia University
1927-1928
T. F. Tout, English History, Manchester
1926-1927
H. J. C. Grierson, English Literature, University of Edinburgh
1925-1926
R. A. Milliken, Physics, California Institute of Technology
1924-1925
J. H. Breasted, Ancient History, Chicago


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