Uncommon Conversations at USC College

The College Commons is a series of programs, talks, seminars and events designed and sponsored by USC College faculty and open to students, faculty, and members of the USC community. Last year’s programs brought such speakers as Stephen Hawking and Adrienne Rich to campus and highlighted the continuing significance of the events of 1859, a year that saw the publication of Darwin’s The Origin of Species and John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty, the rise of Wagner, John Brown’s rebellion at Harper’s Ferry, and a host of other world-changing ideas. This year’s events circle around a new theme, “Maps and Measures: On the Boundaries of What We Know.” We continue our exploration of “The Darwin Revolution,” host writers and film-makers such as A.S. Byatt, Robert Pinsky, Atom Egoyan and Russell Banks, and focus on such areas of interest as “maps and mapping,” the relationship of humanities and economics; the “spiritual life of plants” and “the cultural life of objects,” the mapping of the human brain and the rise of curiosity and collections in the modern world.

Join us for a series of mind-opening events, programs, museum tours, bus trips, and conversations as we discover ideas in common, and the uncommon thinkers who expand the borders of what we know.

Series Descriptions

Committee