Education / Lecture Platform
Week Eight — August 12–18, 2012
Radicalism
Individuals and movements that at the time were considered radical have shaped the course of history. This cuts across politics, religion, philosophy, arts, literature and technology. How does radical thinking drive progress, and how do we distinguish between beneficial and disruptive radicalism? How has radicalism changed in an age of anonymous online communication and breaking down physical barriers to reach like-minded people? Lectures this week will address how we define radicalism, examine its history at home and abroad and ask how the meaning of radicalism differs throughout the world.
Confirmed Lecturers
Monday 8/13 |
Tuesday 8/14 |
Wednesday 8/15 |
Thursday 8/16 |
Friday 8/17 |
Carlin Romano |
Julianne Malveaux |
Freeman Dyson |
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David Rohde |
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Monday, August 13
Carlin Romano
critic-at-large, The Chronicle of Higher Education
Carlin Romano, critic-at-large of The Chronicle of Higher Education and literary critic of The Philadelphia Inquirer for 25 years, currently teaches media theory and philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania. Previously, he served as critic-at-large of Lingua Franca and literary columnist at The Village Voice. A former president of the National Book Critics Circle, his criticism has appeared over the years in The Nation, The New Yorker, Harper’s, Slate, Salon, Tikkun, the Times Literary Supplement, Book Forum and many other publications.
In 2006, Romano was one of three finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism, cited by the Pulitzer Board “for bringing new vitality to the classic essay across a formidable array of topics.” He is a three-time winner of the Society of Professional Journalists “First Prize” in Criticism and has been honored with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Distinguished Arts Criticism Award.
Romano has taught philosophy at Yale, Yeshiva University, Williams College, Bennington College and Temple University. During the 2002–2003 academic year, he was a Fulbright Professor of philosophy at St. Petersburg State University in Russia. He received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, his master’s degree in philosophy from Yale University and his law degree from Columbia Law School.
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Tuesday, August 14
Julianne Malveaux
president Bennett College for Women
Julianne Malveaux stepped down as president of Bennett College, America’s oldest historically black college for women, on May 6. A labor economist, noted author and social commentator, Malveaux contributes to public dialogue on issues such as race, culture, gender and their economic impacts. Her latest publication is “Surviving and Thriving: 365 Facts in Black Economic History.”
Malveaux is a syndicated weekly columnist whose writing has appeared in numerous publications, including USA Today, Essence Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The Charlotte Observer, and The San Francisco Examiner. She is also founder and thought leader of Last Word Productions Inc., a multimedia production company headquartered in Washington, D.C. She has hosted television and radio programs, and appeared widely as a commentator on television news networks.
In the five years of Malveaux’s presidency, Bennett College successfully received a 10-year reaffirmation of its accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, embarked on a $21 million capital improvements program — which marked the first major campus construction in more than 25 years — and in fall 2009, enjoyed an historic enrollment high. Malveaux has been a contributor to academic life since receiving her doctorate in economics from MIT in 1980. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics at Boston College.
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Wednesday, August 15
Freeman Dyson
professor emeritus of physics, Institute for Advanced Study
Freeman J. Dyson began his career as a mathematician but then turned to the exciting new developments in physics in the 1940s, particularly the theory of quantized fields. He wrote two papers on the foundations of quantum electrodynamics that have had a lasting influence on many branches of modern physics. He went on to work in condensed-matter physics, statistical mechanics, nuclear engineering, climate studies, astrophysics and biology.
Beyond his professional work in physics, Dyson has a keen awareness of the human side of science and of the human consequences of technology. His books for the general public include Disturbing the Universe, Weapons and Hope, Infinite in All Directions, The Scientist as Rebel, A Many-colored Glass and The Sun, the Genome and the Internet. In 2000, he was awarded the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion.
Born in Crowthorne, England, Dyson received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Cambridge in 1945, and came to the United States in 1947 as a Commonwealth Fellow at Cornell University. He settled in the U.S. permanently in 1951, became a professor of physics at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton in 1953 and retired as Professor Emeritus in 1994. He is a frequent Chautauqua lecturer.
