Distinguished Speaker in the Humanities

The Distinguished Speaker in the Humanities series was inaugurated in 2000 to emphasize the humanities as a critical component of a meaningful education.

A committee of faculty from the School of Humanities and Sciences works to identify scholars, artists, and interdisciplinary intellectuals whose work has contributed to illuminating the interplay of human thought, history, emotion, and expression—and its significance in understanding the world and our selves.  

Each Distinguished Speaker in the Humanities engages a small group of students in a master class specific to the speaker's field. This interaction with the campus community is then extended to the larger regional community through a lecture that is free and open to the public. 

The series was inaugurated by Robert Pinksy, then poet laureate of the United States. The series has brought an impressive array of internationally known artists and intellectuals to Ithaca College, including writer Salman Rushdie, philosopher Peter Singer, and playwright Tony Kushner. 

The Distinguished Speaker in the Humanities for 2012 is author Anne Fadiman. Read more about her accomplishments and the topic of her public lecture by clicking here.