Past Events

In his second Avenali lecture, Lawrence Weschler will consider a spectrum of convergent effects, including apophenia (the tendency of humans to see patterns where none exist), homage, quotation, cryptomnesia (verbatim appropriation without realizing you’re doing so), and even outright plagiarism.

Delving into Aesop, his adventures, and his crafting of fables, Professor of Classics and Comparative Literature Leslie Kurke’s Aesopic Conversations shows how this noncanonical figure was unexpectedly central to the construction of ancient Greek literature.

In the first of two Avenali lectures, Weschler will explore the connection between art and science, focusing on the thinking of artists Robert Irwin and David Hockney, and offering a fresh consideration of Rembrandt's Anatomy Lesson.

Created for the Maldives Pavilion at the 2013 Venice Biennale, “Polartide” turns the fluctuating data sets of sea levels and oil company stock valuations into digitized tones, inviting participants to reflect on the growing threat of global climate change in a new way. Join us for an interactive performance of “Polartide” at the Sather Tower carillon, followed by discussion in the Geballe Room.

Didier Fassin (Institute for Advanced Study) will discuss his book Humanitarian Reason: A Moral History of the Present (UC Press, 2011) with UC Berkeley faculty.

Professor of Music Nicholas Mathew’s recent book explores Beethoven's music as an active participant in political life from the Napoleonic Wars to the present day.

This one-day conference gathers select scholars to examine the foundation of Mediterranean culture and the role of translation.

The first installment of HBO’s four-part Alzheimer’s Project, this film offers a personal portrait of the complex disease scientists are still struggling to understand and treat, and insight into what makes each of us an individual.

At this interdisciplinary symposium, mapmakers and scholars from the fields of science, urban planning, literature, and new media will examine the ways maps work.

Eyal Weizman (Goldsmiths, University of London) will discuss the place of architecture in human rights and humanitarian law.