2024–25 Feinberg Family Distinguished Lecture Series
WHAT ARE UNIVERSITiES FOR?
STRUGGLES FOR THE SOUL OF HIGHER EDUCATION
A Yearlong Series from the UMass Amherst History Department
The 2024–25 Feinberg Series brings together students, scholars, and community organizers to trace the historical roots of the crises in U.S. higher education and propose solutions for debt-saddled students, resource-starved communities, and others whose futures depend on this bedrock social institution.
Series Events
Free. Online / Hybrid. Open to All.
Closed captions available. All times are Eastern Time.
Click event titles to read more.
KEYNOTE
Is Higher Education Good for Our Communities?
Assessing the Past and Forging a New Path Forward
Davarian L. Baldwin
Tuesday, September 24, 6pm
UMass Bowker Auditorium and Zoom
LECTURE
Striving for Restorative Justice and Repair in Academe
Timothy Eatman with Tanisha Arena
and Rose Webster-Smith
Wednesday, October 9, 6pm
UMass Commonwealth Honors College Events Hall and Zoom
PANEL
The Attack on Honest History
Jesse Hagopian, Paul Ortiz, Ellen Schrecker
Tuesday, October 22, 6pm
On Zoom
FALL CAPSTONE
What Are the Humanities For?
Academic Thought After the Neoliberal University
Christopher Newfield
Monday, November 18, 4pm
On Zoom
PANEL
From Land Grab to Native Sovereignty
Indigenous Futures at Land-Grant Universities
Tristan Ahtone, K. Wayne Yang, Abigail Chabitnoy
Thursday, February 13, 4pm
On Zoom
FILM SCREENING
You Are Not a Loan
Monday, February 24, 6pm
UMass Student Union Black Box Theater and Streaming Online
PANEL
The Rise and Fall of Student Debt
Leigh-Ann Naidoo, Astra Taylor, Kelly Gillespie
Thursday, March 6, 12pm
On Zoom
EXHIBIT
1980s Anti-Imperialist Student Activism at UMass Amherst
On Display April 3–30, M–F 9am–6pm
Exhibit Opening April 3, 12pm
UMass Bromery Center for the Arts Lobby
WORKSHOPS
Plug In to Campus and Local Organizing
Thursday, April 3, 4–6pm
UMass Bromery Center for the Arts Lobby
2025 JAMES BALDWIN LECTURE
The Meaning of Honesty in Academe
Steven Salaita
Wednesday, April 16, 6pm
UMass Old Chapel and Zoom
Presented with the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies
The Feinberg Series
The 2024-25 Feinberg Series explores the historical roots of present-day political, economic, and ethical crises in higher education. It is presented by the UMass Amherst Department of History in partnership with numerous co-sponsors. The Feinberg Family Distinguished Lecture Series is made possible thanks to the generosity of UMass Amherst history department alumnus Kenneth R. Feinberg ’67 and associates.
Read the history department statement on the sponsorship of events.
Join the Feinberg Series Email List
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