Mondays, 5:00 - 6:10 pm (PT) • 4 weeks • April 28 – May 19

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This spring, the Stanford Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series returns with four captivating talks from Stanford faculty, offering fresh insights into history and the humanities. Stanford history chair Caroline Winterer opens the series by exploring how 19th-century transcendentalists like Henry David Thoreau and John Muir navigated the upheavals of rapid technological and social change, drawing insightful parallels to the challenges we face today. Larry Diamond, Stanford’s leading contemporary scholar in the field of democracy studies, then examines if there are practical steps that can be taken to counter polarization and extremism. Senior lecturer emeritus and longtime Continuing Studies instructor Martin Lewis will then test our basic geographical assumptions by tracing the origins and evolution of the continental framework to reveal how these divisions shape—and sometimes distort—our understanding of the world. Finally, historian James Campbell tackles the politics of collective memory to examine how societies choose to remember—or forget—their pasts and how those choices shape national identity and our understanding of history. Each professor will present for 45 minutes, followed by a Q&A session with students.

You can find an overview of the topics and speakers below. We hope you will join us for this engaging series of lectures and Q&A sessions.

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Session 1: Answering Big Questions: Thoreau, Emerson, and More

Caroline Winterer
William Robertson Coe Professor of History and American Studies; Professor of History and, by courtesy, of Classics and of Education; Chair, Department of History, Stanford

Is the search for calm and meaning in a chaotic world a modern challenge? Not at all. In the 19th century, the transcendentalists—a group of writers, artists, and thinkers—grappled with the upheaval of rapid technological and social change associated with the Industrial Revolution and the rise of consumerism, much like we do today. In this lecture, historian Caroline Winterer examines figures such as Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, and John Muir, whose reflections on nature, individuality, and self-reliance shaped enduring ideas about living mindfully and purposefully. What insights can their responses to life’s big questions—about meaning, morality, and human nature—offer for navigating our own era of stress and transformation?

Session 2: Beyond the Divide: Reforms to Curb Polarization

Larry Diamond
Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; William L. Clayton Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution; Professor, by courtesy, of Sociology and of Political Science, Stanford

In the midst of the political ugliness that has become part of our everyday reality, are there steps that can be taken to counter polarization and extremism—practical steps that are acceptable across the political spectrum? Drawing from his recent book Electoral Reform in the United States, Larry Diamond examines how the design of political processes shapes candidate behavior and political dynamics. He will also share insights from two years of research on potential reforms to key aspects of the US electoral system and discuss the ongoing work of Stanford’s Deliberative Democracy Lab.

Session 3: The Myth of Continents

Martin Lewis
Senior Lecturer in International History, Emeritus, Stanford

How many continents are there? We are all taught in elementary school to divide the world into a handful of these clearly demarcated units, but the architecture of continents is far more complicated and contested than we imagine. In this lecture, Martin Lewis traces the origins and evolution of the continental framework, from ancient Greek geography to modern debates, revealing how these divisions shape—and sometimes distort—our understanding of the world. Some systems of classification count only a single "America," others exclude Australia as a continent entirely, and geologists recognize submerged vestiges of ancient landmasses. Even Europe and Asia, traditionally seen as separate, blur boundaries under scrutiny. Why does this seemingly simple concept remain so elusive, and what does it tell us about the limits of geographical thinking?

Session 4: The Problem of Historical Memory

James Campbell
Edgar E. Robinson Professor in United States History, Stanford

What do we mean by “history?” The term refers both to the fixed record of past events and the ever-changing ways those events are remembered and represented—two distinct concepts. The relationship between these forms of “history” is complex. In this lecture, historian James Campbell explores the growing field of collective memory studies. How do societies choose to remember or forget their pasts? Why are some events celebrated while others are ignored? Who determines what gets preserved in textbooks, monuments, museums, and Hollywood movies in which collective memory is negotiated? Amid ongoing debates over our national identity, Campbell examines the politics of historical memory, uncovering how these choices shape our sense of self as a nation and influence our understanding of the past.