What
Makes a Life Significant? A panel discussion in memory of
William James
Monday, April 26th, 2010; reception at 5 pm, discussion at 6 pm
CGIS South Concourse and Tsai Auditorium
A little over a century ago, the Harvard psychologist and philosopher
William James gave a public lecture entitled “What Makes a Life
Significant?" In honor of the hundredth anniversary of his death and to
celebrate his enduring influence, we have invited a panel of
distinguished scholars to revisit the question posed in that lecture
from a range of historical and contemporary starting points. What do
we, in the 21st century, think "makes a life significant"? What can the
academy contribute to an exploration of that question?
James Kloppenberg
(Charles Warren Professor of American History) will introduce and
moderate a star-studded panel that includes philosopher Sissela Bok
(Senior Visiting Fellow, Harvard Center for Population and Development
Studies), Louis Menand (Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of
English), and Cornel West (Class of 1943 University Professor at
Princeton).
The panel will begin at
6:00 pm, but we invite you to join us at 5:00 pm for an “afternoon tea”
reception and an opportunity to view an exhibition of rare materials
from Harvard's Houghton Library and Collection of Historical Scientific
Instruments.
Venue: Harvard's Center
for Government and International Studies (CGIS) South Building, lower
level (1730 Cambridge St, Cambridge MA); the reception will be held in
the Concourse, and the panel discussion will take place in the Tsai
Auditorium.
This event is open to the public; please feel free to forward this
posting widely.
For information, please contact:
Jennifer Shephard
Special Initiatives Program Manager
Division of Social Science - FAS
University Hall 3 South
Harvard University
Cambridge MA 02138
1.617.495.7906
http://socialscience.fas.harvard.edu
jmsheph@fas.harvard.edu
--
Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Harvard University
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor, Suite 301
Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: 617.495.4037
Fax: 617.495.8319
http://www.daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu