Social Theory Lectures

The Committee on Social Theory conducts a variety of activities of interest to faculty, participating students, and the wider university community. These include an annual spring lecture series and an annual Fall Distinguished Author in Social Theory.

Each annual spring lecture series comprises the lectures of four prominent humanistic and social scientific scholars and addresses a key topic in current social thought. Each fall, the committee honors a distinguished theorist for his or her contributions to social thought. Visiting campus for several days, the Distinguished Author offers two public lectures, conducts a seminar with students and faculty interested in his or her work, and otherwise interacts with committee members. Students and faculty prepare for the visit by reading works of the distinguished guest and meeting in seminar format prior to his or her arrival to discuss them.