Arts & Sciences Lecture Series
Join us for one of our annual lectures, highlighting scholarship across the College and the entire academic world
The Arts & Sciences Lecture Series at Boston University celebrates bold ideas and interdisciplinary dialogue through three signature events: the Howard Zinn Memorial Lecture, honoring the progressive legacy of historian and activist Howard Zinn; the Silas Peirce Lecture, fostering community across disciplines with thought-provoking discussions; and the Gitner Family Lecture, spotlighting leaders whose work addresses issues of broad significance. Together, these lectures embody the spirit of Arts × Sciences—a multiplier of knowledge and possibilities.
Next Up!
Howard Zinn Lecture
Up Next:
Speaker: Claudia Rankine
Recipient of the 2016 MacArthur Fellowship, Claudia Rankine is the author of five collections of poetry including Citizen: An American Lyric and Don’t Let Me Be Lonely; two plays including Provenance of Beauty: A South Bronx Travelogue; and is the editor of several anthologies including The Racial Imaginary: Writers on Race in the Life of the Mind. Her first published play, The White Card, was published with Graywolf Press in 2019. She also co-produces a video series, “The Situation,” alongside John Lucas, and is the founder of the Open Letter Project: Race and the Creative Imagination. Among her numerous awards and honors, Rankine is the recipient of the Poets & Writers’ Jackson Poetry Prize and fellowships from the Lannan Foundation and the National Endowment of the Arts. Just Us: An American Conversation (Graywolf, 2020), is a collection of essays where Rankine questions what it means in these spaces to interrogate white privilege, well-meaning liberal politics, white male aggression, the implications of blondness, white supremacy in the White House, the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, and the alarming move toward Brexit.
Wednesday, December 2, 2026
Tsai Performance Center, 6:00 – 7:30PM
About the Arts & Sciences Lecture Series
The Howard Zinn Memorial Lecture was established in 2008 to be a stimulating and energizing memorial to the progressive political values of Professor Howard Zinn (1922–2010), a historian, author, professor, playwright, mentor, and activist whose writings changed the lives of BU students and readers around the world. Zinn taught in the College of Arts & Sciences’ political science department for 24 years, from 1964 to 1988, and wrote dozens of books, including A People’s History of the United States. The Howard Zinn Memorial Lecture is made possible by the Zinn Lecture Fund, thanks to a generous gift from Alex MacDonald, Esq. (CAS’72), and his late wife Maureen A. Strafford, MD (MED’76).
The Silas Peirce Lecture, reintroduced in 2014, is designed to foster a sense of community among faculty, students, and alumni across multiple disciplines and colleges. Named after Silas Peirce (1860-1922), a prominent Boston businessman and philanthropist who served as treasurer and trustee of Boston University, the lecture honors Peirce’s legacy and deep roots in the Boston area. The lecture is open to all fields of inquiry across the liberal arts and sciences and designed to represent diverse disciplines over the years. The Silas Peirce fund, established by his heirs, ensures the continuation of these special lectures, which aim to bring together the academic community through engaging and thought-provoking discussions.
The Gerald and Deanne Gitner Family College of Arts & Sciences Lecture
The Gerald and Deanne Gitner Family College of Arts & Sciences Lecture, held annually in the fall, is designed to highlight thought leaders in any field, whose teaching, research, or service address topics of major importance for the broad interest and benefit of the BU community. The Gitner Lecture is made possible by Gerald Gitner (CAS’66) and his wife, Deanne, who have long been generous and engaged members of the Boston University community. Gitner, who graduated from the college with a degree in history, is a Trustee Emeritus of BU and a current member of the CAS Dean’s Advisory Board and the Pardee School for Global Studies Dean’s Advisory Board.