Since the fall of 2008, the Chautauqua lecture series has replicated the spirit of 19th-century Chautauqua assemblies that took compelling cultural education to rural communities. Now in its fourth year, the series brings luminary Duke professors for an evening of discussion with first-year students, with a special emphasis on those professors who connect their research to current political, social, scientific and environmental issues. Past speakers have included academics such as political scientist Peter Feaver, to English professor and feminist critic Priscilla Wald. These seminars don't occur in lecture halls, but in East Campus residential space, with the goal of fostering greater faculty-student interaction. They include catered dinners. We seek to blur the lines between academic space and residential space so that our newest students understand that the intellectual life does not end in the classroom, and that their academic experiences have great relevance to current events.


2012 Chautauqua Lecture Series


Noor's Meanderings on Evolution and Species Formation

Wednesday, September 12th

Mohamed Noor

Earl D. McLean Professor and Associate Chair, Biology

Blackwell


Ultrasonic Imaging: Making Pictures with Sound

Wednesday, September 26th

Kathy Nightingale

James L. Vincent Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Giles


Performing Race/Embodied Black Identities

Tuesday, October 2nd

Richard Powell

John Spencer Bassett Professor, Art, Art History & Visual Studies

Brown


Refugees and Radical Hope

Tuesday, October 23rd

Suzanne Shanahan

Associate Director, Keanan Institute of Ethics & Associate Research Professor, Sociology

Randolph


The Rise of Robotics in Contemporary Medicine

Wednesday, October 24th

Mark Olson

Assistant Professor of Visual and Media Studies

Alspaugh


'Can you hear me now?' Cell Phones, the Internet, and Spectrum

Monday, November 5th

Michelle Connolly

Associate Professor of the Practice, Economics

Southgate


What's it like to be an ape? 

Wednesday, November 14th

Brian Hare

Assistant Professor, Evolutionary Anthropology

Wilson


2012 Chautauqua West Lecture Series


Foreign Policy and the 2012 Presidential Campaign

Tuesday, September 18th

Peter Feaver

Professor, Political Science and Public Policy

McClendon Tower, Floor 5


Tweeting While Black: The History of Black Folk and Social Media

Thursday, October 4th

Mark Anthony Neal

Professor, African & African American Studies

Keohane University Room


Mary Lou Williams and Expressive Choice: Crossing of the Sacred/Secular Divide in Music

Tuesday, October 30th

Anthony Kelley

Associate Professor of the Practice, Music

McClendon Tower, Floor 5


When the Genome Gets Personal

Wednesday, November 7th

Nancy Andrews

Dean, Duke University School of Medicine & Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

McClendon Tower, Floor 5


Creating Ashe/Connecting to the Divine

Tuesday, November 13th

Ava Vinesett

Associate Professor of the Practice, Dance

McClendon Tower, Floor 5