Carolina Public Humanities

Traditionally an in-person forum for discussion of topics in the news, Carolina Public Humanities has organized five virtual talks that speak to the challenges America is facing.  Each webinar is accompanied with a live question and answer session with the presenter.

This program is taking a summer break but will be back in the fall.

Usually held in cozy settings throughout campus, Carolina Public Humanities has adapted these powerhouse seminars to become completely engaging virtual experiences. Participants learn from, and talk with, world-class faculty from UNC and surrounding universities.

Adventures in Ideas take place over a full day and have three or more speakers.  Immerse yourself and explore topics in details with a variety of views.  Each session is $40 or purchase a CPH Summer Pass for $140 and enjoy ALL all CPH online programs (except Great Book classes).
GAA members save $25 on CPH Summer Pass.

• June 5 – Plato’s Republic and the Meaning of Justice with Geoffrey Sayre-McCord: Many people are raised to think that virtue is its own reward and that they ought to do the right thing because it is right, not because they hope for some reward or fear some punishment. In Plato’s The Republic, Glaucon and his brother Adeimantus mount a powerful case for thinking we should reject these views.
• June 26 – Conceptions of Time: From the Big Bang to Daylight Saving with Adrienne Erickcek, Zlatko Pleše and Lloyd Kramer: The meanings and limits of human lives are entangled in the passage of time. We mark the days and years of our lives with familiar numbers on clocks and calendars, but human conceptions of time have always gone far beyond the dates on a calendar. This seminar thus examines how time has been defined and experienced through the cultural frames of science, religion, and social history.

Dialogues are half-day seminars featuring two speakers.  Experience informative lectures and lively discussions.  Each session is $30 or purchase a CPH Summer Pass for $140 and enjoy ALL all CPH online programs (except Great Book classes).
GAA members save $25 on CPH Summer Pass.

• June 12 – Art, Monuments and Power in Native American Cultures before 1500 with Vincas P. Steponaitis and Eduardo Douglas: Ruling elites have always wanted to show their power through monuments and artworks that celebrate their grandeur and exalted status. This Dialogues seminar examines the linkage between power and monumental art in the societies that flourished long before 1500 C.E. in places that are now within the southeastern United States and Mexico.
• June 19 – Ella Baker, Barack Obama and the Long Struggle for Equal Rights with Patricia S. Parker and Claude A. Clegg III: African American communities have long gathered for Juneteenth celebrations that commemorate the abolition of slavery, but these celebrations have also shown how the struggle for equal rights continues in our own time. This struggle has depended on millions of unsung people, but it has also advanced through the vision of exceptional leaders.

These two “learning and listening” events combining commentary and performance.  It’s the perfect mix of education and entertainment!  Purchase a CPH Summer Pass and these are included.
GAA members save $25 on Summer Pass.

• June 3 – Caribbean Connections with Stephen Anderson and Juan Manuel Alamo: A demonstration of the instruments, rhythms, and styles of Latin and Caribbean jazz music. $15
• June 10 – The World and Music of Chopin with Robert Buxton: Frédéric François Chopin set the bar for all pianist composers of the Romantic era. His etudes, waltzes, and other compositions are familiar to many, but what are some of the stories behind their creation and what are the keys to understanding what made Chopin so special? $15

Please visit the Carolina Public Humanities’ event calendar to see a full list of events.