Lectures

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Vanderbilt supports lifelong learning. Watch the Winter 2011 professors describe the upcoming classes. Osher is an organization that provides adults with educational programs, stimulating tours and trips, and a variety of social events. The program reflects the high academic standards espoused by the university… Read More

Guerillas belonging to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC, kidnapped Ingrid Betancourt as she campaigned for the Colombian presidency in 2002. She was held captive six years in Colombia’s rain forest until she was liberated in  2008 with 14 other hostages in a daring rescue staged by… Read More

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer came to Vanderbilt Law School on Nov. 16 to help demystify the workings of the Supreme Court and talk about themes in his newly released book, Making Our Democracy Work, A Judge’s View. Breyer has been a Supreme Court associate justice since 1994. He was… Read More

Gustavo Gutiérrez, author of A Theology of Liberation; History, Politics, Salvation and other ground-breaking works on issues of spirituality and Latin American history, spoke on the Vanderbilt University campus Nov. 8, 2010. Gutiérrez’s address, “Liberation Theology: 40 Years Later,” was sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies, which… Read More

Watch video of Paul Silvia speaking about “Motivation, Creativity, and (Not) Writing,” Nov. 4 at the Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center. Silvia, associate professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, is the author of How to Write A Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive… Read More

Assistant Professor of Art Amelia Winger-Bearskin started out as a performer for opera, dance and theatrical performances in film and stage before becoming an artist. She still draws much of her inspiration for her artwork from the world she experienced “behind the scenes.” Winger-Bearskin will literally teach the audience how to… Read More

Noted congressional scholar Thomas E. Mann spoke at Vanderbilt University Oct. 28 about the outlook for the 2010 midterm elections. The public lecture was sponsored by Vanderbilt’s Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. Mann, the W. Averell Harriman Chair and senior fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution,… Read More

Dr. Bill Paul, Metro Nashville’s director of public health, discusses “health care reform in the community” with the Healthcare Delivery Systems course taught by Sharon Shields, professor of the practice of health promotion and education. Media Contact: Ann Marie Deer Owens, (615) 322-NEWS annmarie.owens@vanderbilt.edu… Read More

Admiral Joseph Wilson Prueher moderates the second annual Security Symposium sponsored by Vanderbilt University’s Naval ROTC. Panelists are: Peter Lorge, who teaches military history; Brett Benson, a political scientist; and James Holmes, a professor at the U.S. Naval War College. They discuss “China: Regional or World Power?” Contact: annmarie.owens@vanderbilt.edu… Read More

The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, put the condition and future of the Catholic faith on the table for discussion. Nearly 45 years after the three-year council ended, the effects of Vatican II are still being felt, from the role of laity to the language used… Read More

Watch award-winning author and filmmaker M.K. Asante deliver Vanderbilt’s annual Walter R. Murray Jr. Lecture. Hailed by the Philadelphia Inquirer as “a rare, remarkable talent that brings to mind the great artists of the Harlem Renaissance,” Asante is the author of three celebrated books and films. Murray was the first… Read More

BP’s long summer battling one of the world’s most disastrous oil spills may be over. But as Robert Dudley assumes the role of BP’s next chief executive on Oct. 1, he faces years of rebuilding – both along the Gulf Coast and within the company. The Vanderbilt Owen… Read More

Professor John Alford of Rice University speaks about the correlation between genetics and politics. This MLAS Fall 2010 class, led by Professors John Geer and David Bader, explores how genetics might influence politics. Read more >> Contact: news@vanderbilt.edu (615) 322-NEWS… Read More

Watch videos of Frank Wcislo, Dean of The Commons and associate professor of history at Vanderbilt University, leading classes at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. This lecture series surveys the history of the Russian Empire from the 18th century, the height of its prominence, until the revolutions of 1917, the time… Read More

Watch videos of John Lachs, Centennial Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University, leading classes at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. The 19th century was an unusually fertile period of thought. The ideas of evolution, progress, liberty, radical encounter with God, the struggle for existence, human control over human destiny,… Read More

Clever host of Current TV’s “That’s Gay,” Bryan Safi teaches you how to BURST through the closet door with tried and true methods from: Gossip Girl, MADMEN, Glee, and Greek. Contact: Elizabeth Gaughf… Read More

Watch video of Jim Leach, chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, speaking Oct. 8.   Read more >> Media Contact: Missy Pankake, (615) 322-NEWS missy.pankake@vanderbilt.edu… Read More

An award-winning national media producer and communications strategist whose clients have included President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain discussed key elements of successful campaigns with students in a political science class taught by John Geer and Roy Neel. Mark McKinnon, vice chairman of the Austin-based Public Strategies Inc.,… Read More

Watch video of a Sept. 29, 2010, Lunch and Learn Event with Dr. Jeff Balser, vice chancellor for health affairs, Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Too often, physicians must base life-and-death decisions not on how an individual will respond to therapy but instead on how large groups of patients did —… Read More

Watch video of Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian T.J. Stiles speaking on “The Commodore’s Patriotism: Cornelius Vanderbilt’s Path to the Founding of Vanderbilt University.” Cornelius Vanderbilt, arguably the richest man in America when he died in 1877, played a major role in the development of the modern United States, according to… Read More