The Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt University kicks off its 25th anniversary Sept. 19-20, with scholarship and celebration, including the premiere of a documentary, a reception and a series of panel discussions with former Warren Center fellows.
Carolyn Dever, dean of the College of Arts and Science, will open the anniversary celebration at Sarratt Cinema in Sarratt Student Center at 4:10 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19. Her remarks will be followed by the premiere of Speaking for the Humanities, a documentary highlighting the history of the Warren Center and the significance of the humanities in society and at Vanderbilt. The documentary, directed and produced by Rosevelt Noble, senior lecturer in sociology, includes interviews with national figures, faculty and other scholars with ties to the Warren Center. A reception in Sarratt Lobby will follow.
On Friday, the center will host panel discussions exploring how discourse in the humanities has changed in the areas of gender, sexuality and race; theory and culture; media and technology; and globalization and diaspora during the past 25 years. The panelists are all former William S. Vaughn Visiting Fellows at the Warren Center.
Friday’s sessions begin at 9 a.m. and will be held at the First Amendment Center, 1207 18th Ave. S.
All events are free and open to the public. See the full schedule on the Warren Center website.
Established in 1988, the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities promotes interdisciplinary research and study in the humanities and social sciences. The center is named after one of Vanderbilt’s most prominent graduates in the arts and humanities, former poet laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Penn Warren. The Warren Center serves as an intellectual hub of activity for faculty and graduate students in different disciplines and provides opportunities for those with related research and teaching interests to learn and study with each other.