Sociologist to Lecture on Posthumanism
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Richard Sennett, sociologist at New York University and the London School of Economics, will give the lecture "Is Humanism Dead?" on Thursday, Sept. 23, at 8 p.m. at Williams College. This lecture will be the keynote address for the Oakley Center Symposium “After Humanism.” The lecture is free and open to the public, and will be held in Griffin Hall, Room 3.In the lecture, Sennett will address challenges posed by the work of thinkers who call themselves "posthumanists." Posthumanism questions traditional definitions of "the human" and poses radically different ways of understanding human nature and the relationship between humans and other species.
Sennett's research focuses on cities, labor, and culture. He is the author of numerous works, including "The Hidden Injuries of Class" (1972), "The Fall of Public Man" (1977), "The Culture of the New Capitalism" (2005), and three novels.
In addition to his current appointments, Sennett has taught at Harvard University,was an advisor to UNESCO and was president of the American Council on Work. In 1976, he became the founding director of the New York Institute for the Humanities at New York University. Among his numerous awards are the Spinoza Prize (2010), the Hegel Prize (2006), and the Helen and Robert Lynd Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Sociological Association (2004).
