Bishop C.C. McCabe Lectures
Bishop Charles Cardwell McCabe embodies the spirit of American University's founders. McCabe, Vice Chancellor and Chancellor of the university from 1899-1902, dreamt of an educational system unlike that of any other university of its time. He believed in building a lasting future for AU and began the first successful fundraising campaign with his call to action, "Five dollars each, from one million people," to foster the new university.
Under Bishop McCabe's leadership, American University's second building was constructed: the McKinley Memorial Building, created in honor of United States President William McKinley. McCabe himself laid the cornerstone for the building.
Upcoming Lectures
Teju Cole Presents Blindspot
Wednesday, October 3, 7:00 p.m.
Doyle Forman Theater, School of Communication
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Prolific author, photographer and New York Times photography critic Teju Cole will read and show slides from his most recent work, Blind Spot. The book assembles photographs and text that chronicle Cole’s international travel in a dramatically changing world. At once a lyrical essay on place, and a collection of photographs that insist on seeing what often goes unseen, Blind Spot invites the reader to think through the radical implications of bearing witness.
Known and Strange Things: Art and Activism in the 21st Century
Thursday, October 4, 7:00 p.m.
Abramson Family Recital Hall, Katzen Arts Center
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Artist and scholar Teju Cole’s art practice includes photography, novels, art installations, essays and Spotify playlists. Cole will speak about the possibilities of art and activism at a time of wrenching political division. How can art enter—and transform—national conversations? What can activists teach artists about meaningful creative expression in the 21st century?
Past Lectures
2016-2017
Jelani Cobb: "The Half-Life of Freedom"
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, "The Diversity Blues: Reframing the Diversity Agenda at HWCUs"
2014-2015
Amy Stolls
Ta-Nehisi Coates
2013-2014
Nina Tandon: "Super Cells: Building with Biology"
Linda Daly: "The Problem and Pleasures of Writing from Life"
2012-2013
Ava Farmer Reading: Ava Farmer (nom de plume of Sandy Lerner) on her novel,
Second Impressions, the first sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
Dean Hamer: "Out in the Silence: At the Forefront of LGBT Inclusion"
2010-2011
Writers in Motion: Reading the Fall, Writing the Recovery
Madeleine Thien, Vicente Groyon, Eduardo Halfón, Alice Pung,
Christopher Merrill, Marjorie Ames, Jim Leach, Kyle Dargan
2009-2010
Health of the Economy / Economics of Health
Adam Davidson, David Kestenbaum, Rachel Louise Snyder
2008-2009
Sandow Birk: "Capturing Dystopia"
Allan Lichtman: "Seven Days until Tomorrow"
Dunya Mikhail & Bruce Weigl: "The Syntax of Wars"
2007-2008
Dr. Akasha Gloria Hull: "Fiction and Black Feminism"
Edward Hirsch: Poetry Reading
2006-2007
MAKING HISTORY/SHAPING HISTORY
Lonnie Bunch: "The Power of Remembering: The Continuing Importance of Black History Month"
Natasha Trethewey: "A Remnant South: A Reading and Discussion"
2005-2006
American Identity
Charles Holt: A performance of Black Boy
Lillian Jiménez, Film Screening and Discussion:
"Antonia Pantoja: Forging a Path for Puerto Rican Civil Rights in the U.S."
Dr. Peter Selz: "Art of Engagement"
Fall 2005: Woman as Object, Subject, and Creator
Dr. Lisa Farrington: "Black Feminist Artists"
Ann Beattie: "Tribute to Dr. Frank Turaj"
Dr. Peter Dans: "Hollywood & Women Doctors"
2004-2005
Allan J. Lichtman: "Keys to the White House"
Paul R. Ehrlich: "One With Nineveh: Politics, Consumption, and the Human Future"
Richard D. Breitman: "U.S. Intelligence and the Nazis"
The Bishop McCabe Lecture Fund
The Bishop C.C. McCabe Lecture Fund was established by the Board of Trustees in 1907 in memory of the Bishop and through his generous bequest to the College of Arts and Sciences. Although these funds help to offset the costs of producing the lecture series, they do not fully support its needs.
If you are interested in making a gift in support of the Bishop C.C. McCabe Lecture Series, please the Office of Development and Alumni Relations at 202-885-5900, or make your gift online.
Bishop McCabe's legacy can still be felt today. The Bishop McCabe Fund was established in 1906 through a bequest in the Bishop's will to create a lecture series in the College of Arts and Sciences. Today, the Bishop C.C. McCabe Lecture Series features prominent faculty members, notable alumni, and distinguished scholars from all disciplines within the College.