Harvard Allston Education Portal Faculty Speaker Series

The Faculty Speaker Series began in spring 2009 as a way to bring the Harvard community, Allston community, and Greater Boston community together to discuss timely and diverse topics and to extend the theory and discourse being taught in Harvard’s classrooms to the public.

Presentations vary in subject from the study of zebra fish, to fairytales and the culture of childhood, to Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution.  The speaker series provides an opportunity for the public to broaden their understanding of the research taking place at Harvard and strengthens the engagement and dialogue between Harvard faculty, students, and community members.

All lectures are held in the evening at the Ed Portal and are free and open to the general public. 

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2012-2013 Series
*Additional lectures and dates to be announced for spring 2013

Professor Michael Sandel- October 23, 2012
"What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets”

Michael Sandel is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard University.  Professor Sandel's popular book "Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?", a New York Times best seller, relates the big questions of political philosophy to the most vexing issues of our time. His undergraduate course "Justice" is the first Harvard course to be made freely available online and on public television.  This talk is appropriate for all ages.

Professor Robin Kelsey- December 4, 2012
"Performing for the Camera: Some Thoughts on Photography"

Robin Kelsey is Shirley Carter Burden Professor of Photography and Chair of the History of Art and Architecture Department at Harvard University. He is the author of Archive Style: Photographs and Illustrations for U.S. Surveys, 1850-1890, and co-editor with Blake Stimson of The Meaning of Photography. He is at work on two books, one about photography and chance and another about photography in America during the Cold War. He has received several awards for his scholarship and teaching, including the Arthur Kingsley Porter prize from the College Art Association.

Professor Alyssa Goodman- January 31, 2013
"The WorldWide Telescope"

Alyssa Goodman is Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University, and a Research Associate of the Smithsonian Institution. Goodman and her research group at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, MA study the dense gas between the stars. They are particularly interested in how this interstellar gas arranges itself into new stars. Their investigations use a variety of observational techniques covering the spectral range from X- ray to radio.

Professor Doris Sommer- April 23, 2013
""Cultural Agents All: How Art Promotes Education, Innovation, and Citizenship""

Doris Sommer is Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, and Director of the Cultural Agents Initiative. Sommer’s research includes 19th-Century novels that helped to consolidate Latin American republics, the aesthetics of minority literature, including multilingual virtuosity, and she is now focused on art's constructive work in expanding rights and resources. Sommer is an accomplished author with a forthcoming book entitled, The Work of Art in the World: Civic Agency in Art and Interpretation. Sommer is also dedicated to developing good public school education through her "Pre-Texts" program.