Wednesday lecture series

Celebrated fiction writer and essayist William H. Gass will present the John and Penelope Biggs Residency in the Classics Lecture for the Assembly Series at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 30 in Graham Chapel. The lecture, titled “Metaphor,” will explore the true essence of metaphors and their connection to language and creativity.

At a panel discussion for the Assembly Series to be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 1, five individuals will try to assess “The Future of the Democratic Party.” The program, which is co-sponsored by the College Democrats at Washington University, is free and open to the public.

Wendy Kopp, founder of Teach for America, will talk about the need to correct disparities in America’s public school system for the Assembly Series at 4 p.m., Wednesday, March 8 in Graham Chapel. The program is free and open to the public.

In his book The Shame of the Nation, he exposes glaring inequities between schools catering to minorities in dense cities, and predominantly white schools in suburbia.

Garber has authored four books devoted to the Bard; the most recent, Shakespeare After All, makes him more accessible to the common reader.

Jonathan Kozol, the nation’s foremost authority on the state of public education in America, will present a talk on “The Hearts of Children and Obligations of our Nation’s Schools” for the Assembly Series at 11 a.m., Wednesday, February 22. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be held in Graham Chapel.

Courtesy photoMarjorie GarberGleaned from her popular lectures covering three decades, Garber’s 2004 book, Shakespeare After All, offers fresh meditations on the Bard’s plays in an erudite and entertaining fashion. She is a professor of English and director of the Humanities Center at Harvard University. The talk, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, in Edison Theatre.

Conceptual artist and African-American activist damali ayo will give a presentation for the Washington University Assembly Series at 11 a.m. Wednesday, February 15 in Graham Chapel. The event, co-sponsored by Mortarboard and the Social Justice Center, is a multimedia presentation that interacts directly with the audience to address issues of racial injustice.

She has argued that the institution of marriage has always been dynamic, shifting to fulfill economic needs in societies or kin groups.

Family historian Stephanie Coontz will debunk popular myths about marriage and the family in her Assembly Series/School of Law lecture, “Courting Disaster? The World Historical Transformation of Marriage.” The talk, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 11 a.m.Wednesday, February 1 in Graham Chapel.