18th Annual Senior College Symposium, Wed. April 19, 2023 9am to 4pm at the U of T Faculty Club, 41 Willcocks (or by Zoom) Surveillance, Privacy, Artificial Intelligence: The Promises […]
May 1, 2023, 2-4pm – Fellows and External Fellows Kyle Harper, From Shame to Sin: The Christian Transformation of Sexual Morality in Late Antiquity (2013) Discussion Leader: David Milne It […]
May 17, 2023, 2-4:45pm - in-person only (non-Fellows can participate for $10) Speaker: Merrill Swain Title: “Talking Matters: Theory, Research and Knowledge Mobilization” AND “Talking Matters” (a play) Introducer: Daphne Maurer Abstract of talk: The focus of […]
Wednesday Talk: May 24, 2023, 2-4pm - Zoom only (non-Fellows can participate for $10) Speaker: Lawrence Wiliford Title: "Charting a New Path: Classical Vocal Music and Canadian Visual Media Distribution” Introducer: Linda Hutcheon […]
Wednesday Talk: May 31, 2023, 2-4pm - Zoom only (non-Fellows can participate for $10) Speaker: Geoff Rayner-Canham Title: “Chemistry and Inuit Life and Culture” Introducer: Linda Hutcheon Abstract: Inuit have lived and thrived for millennia in […]
June 5, 2023, 2-4pm, - Fellows and External Fellows Steven Johnson, The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic – and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the […]
June 7, 2023 Speaker: Katherine Corcoran Title: “In the Mouth of the Wolf: A Murder, A Cover-up, and the True Cost of Silencing the Press” Abstract: Katherine Corcoran will discuss […]
June 14, 2023 Speaker: Ella Striem-Amit Title: “Drawing with Your Feet: Learning about Brain Plasticity and Function from People Born without Hands” Abstract: We perform most of our daily actions […]
"Meet Your Colleagues" Summer Sessions Thursdays 2-4pm on Zoom only - Fellows and External Fellows only June 15: Carl Baar Link to register: https://forms.office.com/r/uitNEJK1XT The deadline to register is the morning of the […]
"Meet Your Colleagues" Summer Sessions Thursdays 2-4pm on Zoom only - Fellows and External Fellows only June 22: Peter Alberti Link to register: https://forms.office.com/r/FVfARcAbDF The deadline to register is the morning of […]
June 23, 2023 Speaker: Daniel Lang Title: 'The Carnegie Foundation and University of Toronto Faculty Pensions: An "Undenominational", Un-tax-funded History”’ Abstract: When the Carnegie Foundation was established in 1905, universities […]
"Meet Your Colleagues" Summer Sessions Thursdays 2-4pm on Zoom only - Fellows and External Fellows only June 29: Deanne Bogdan Link to register: https://forms.office.com/r/gduNzVa4mt The deadline to register is the morning of […]
July 3, 2023, 2-4pm, - Fellows and External Fellows Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince (1532) Discussion Leader: David Milne […]
"Meet Your Colleagues" Summer Sessions Thursdays 2-4pm on Zoom only - Fellows and External Fellows only July 6: Cynthia Smith Link to register: https://forms.office.com/r/0V3kxt5Vvm The deadline to register is the morning of […]
"Meet Your Colleagues" Summer Sessions Thursdays 2-4pm on Zoom only - Fellows and External Fellows only July 13: Ed Barbeau Link to register: https://forms.office.com/r/vLA1kTqY79 The deadline to register is the morning of […]
"Meet Your Colleagues" Summer Sessions Thursdays 2-4pm on Zoom only - Fellows and External Fellows only July 20: Hugh Gunz Link to register: https://forms.office.com/r/s2rY2Yskk2 The deadline to register is the morning of […]
"Meet Your Colleagues" Summer Sessions Thursdays 2-4pm on Zoom only - Fellows and External Fellows only July 27: Suzanne Hidi Link to register: https://forms.office.com/r/SgaVxd0CzZ The deadline to register is the morning of […]
Wednesday, September 6, 10 am Speaker: Elizabeth Harvey Title: “Out of One’s Mind: Dementia in Anne Carson’s Poetry” ABSTRACT: Anne Carson is an internationally renowned Canadian poet. Her eccentric poetic […]
Book Club: September 11, 2023, 2023, 2-4pm – Fellows and External Fellows - Zoom only. David Graeber and David Wengrow, The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity (2021) […]
Wednesday, September 13, 10 am Speaker: Kang Lee Title: “Little Cheaters and How to Make Them Honest: The Origin of Academic Dishonesty in Childhood” Abstract: In this talk, I will […]
Topic: " What is the purpose of school education?" Organizers: Phil Sullivan, Charles Maurer, Ed Barbeau, John Yeomans Readings Alison Lurie, “Do Schools have to be boring?”. New York Review of Books, […]
Senior College Excursion, September 19, 2023, Fellows and External Fellows only. Senior College has been offered an exciting opportunity to visit a lovely private garden by Dr. Isabelle Robinson who […]
Wednesday, September 20, 10 am Speaker: Valerie Tarasuk Title: “Food Insecurity in Canada: A Blind Spot in Public Policy” Abstract: Household food insecurity refers to the inadequate or insecure access […]
Wednesday, September 27, 10 am Speaker: Howard Eisenberg Title: “How Reality Works and the Case for Non-Duality: Echoes from Plato’s Cave©️” Abstract: Do you wonder sometimes how and why […]
Book Club: October 2, 2023, 2023, 2-4pm – Fellows and External Fellows - Zoom only. Tom Stoppard, Arcadia (1993) Discussion leader: Alexander Leggatt Even if you haven’t read a play […]
Wednesday, October 4, 10 am Speaker: Geoff Rayner-Canham Title: “Chemistry and Inuit Life and Culture” Abstract: Inuit have lived and thrived for millennia in one of the most challenging environments […]
Wednesday, October 11, 10 am Speaker: Paul Delaney Title: “The Evolution of the Space Telescopes” Abstract: The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and now the James Web Space Telescope (JWST) are […]
Topic: "How do we house the homeless?" Organizers: Marty Klein, Cynthia Smith, Bill Logan All colloquia will be held at the Senior College Centre. Masks are advised. Fellows & External […]
Wednesday, October 18, 10 am Speaker: Heidi Bohaker Title: “Ontario's Treaties as First Law: Indigenous-Crown Relations and Land Conveyance Agreements” Abstract: The word “treaty” in common usage typically refers to […]
Speaker: Joanne Tod Title: “The Dearth of Irony: Postmodernism, Identity Politics and the Visual Arts” Abstract: Rejecting the grand narratives and absolute values embraced by Modernism, some of the conceptual […]
Speakers: Sue and Jim Waddington Title: “In the Footsteps of the Group of Seven and Tom Thomson” Due to unforeseen circumstances, this event is now on Zoom only. Abstract: During […]
November 6, 2023, 2-4pm – Fellows and External Fellows Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species (1859) Discussion Leader: Sara Shettleworth Widely regarded as one of the most important books […]
Speaker: Marie-Hélène Budworth Title: “Diversity at Work: Uncovering Barriers to Inclusivity in Employment” Abstract: Dr. Budworth will review research on diversity, inclusion, and belonging from the organizational psychology and organizational […]
Wednesday, November 15, 10 am Speaker: Derek Denis Title: “English in Multicultural Toronto” Derek Denis. associate professor of linguistics, Department of Language Studies, UTM Abstract: This talk explores the diverse […]
Topic: "How do we recognize historical figures whose record is now seen controversial? The conundrum of statues and naming." Organizers: Trevor Lloyd, Mary Finlay, Marty Klein All colloquia will be […]
Speaker: Jacqueline Gibbons Title: Spread Your Wings: Icarus to 1912 (Flight, The Men and Women) Abstract: Telling a tale of remarkable explorers, inventors, pilots and entrepreneurs who have set the […]
December 4, 2023, 2-4pm – Fellows and External Fellows Jennifer Raff, Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas (2022) Discussion Leader: Susan Pfeiffer Where did the Indigenous people of the […]
January 8, 2024, 2-4pm – Fellows and External Fellows Kevin Rudd, The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict between US and Xi Jinping's China (2022) Discussion Leaders: Max […]
Wednesday Talk: January 10, 2024, 2-4 pm - in-person and on Zoom Speaker: Max Friesen, Anthropology, U of T Title: “Ancient and Urgent: Climate Change Threats to the Arctic Heritage Record” Abstract: The long-term history of the […]
Speaker: Kristin Andrews, Research Chair in Animal Minds, York University Title: “Chat GPT and Bumble Bees: Exploring the Consciousness Question” Abstract: Is there something it is like to be a […]
Colloquium, January 18, 2024, 2-4pm – Fellows & External Fellows Only – in-person only Topic: "The rise of authoritarian governments." Organizers: Phil Sullivan All colloquia will be held at the Senior College […]
Speaker: Kevin Edmunds, History, U of T Title: “Haiti, Popular Democracy and the Endless Colonial Intervention” Abstract: What happens when intervention designed to "help" produces an even greater harm? In […]
Speaker: John Gardner, author Title: “Capturing the Camino de Santiago: A Pilgrim's Journey through the Ages” Abstract: Over his lifetime John has engaged continuously in his favourite activity: trekking long […]
Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at 2 pm Speaker: Jane Rylett, Scientific Director, CIHR Institute of Aging, Western U. Title: “Addressing the Impacts of Canada’s Changing Population Demographic” Abstract: The CIHR […]
February 12, 2024, 2-4pm - Fellows and External Fellows Alistair MacLeod, No Great Mischief (1999) Discussion Leader: Meg Fox The first (and only) novel by a great Canadian short story […]
Speaker: James Hunter, former President of KPMG Forensic Inc Title: “White Collar Crime—An Investigator’s Perspective” Abstract: Fraudulent activity has existed since time immemorial. What is it that possesses otherwise honest […]
Speaker: John Gardner, author Title: “Capturing the Camino de Santiago: A Pilgrim's Journey through the Ages” Abstract: Over his lifetime John has engaged continuously in his favourite activity: trekking long […]
Colloquium, February 15, 2024, 2-4pm – Fellows & External Fellows Only – in-person only Topic: "Freedom of speech in Academia." Organizers:Pat Brubaker All colloquia will be held at the Senior […]
Speaker: Dan Drucker, Medicine, U of T Title: “Changing Health Outcomes for People Living with Diabetes or Obesity” Abstract: Enthusiasm for gut-derived therapies stems from a precise understanding of the […]
Speaker: Celia Smith, CEO Luminato Festival, Toronto Title: “Arts, Culture & Creativity in a Time of Dynamic Change” Abstract: Is there space for beauty, joy, reflection and inspiration in today's […]
March 4, 2024, 2-4pm – Fellows and External Fellows Ed Yong, An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us (2022) Discussion Leader: Sara Shettleworth This book […]
Speaker: Morgan Barense, Neuropsyschology, U of T Title: “A smartphone Intervention to Enhance Real-World Event Memory” Abstract: The act of remembering an everyday experience influences how we interpret the world, […]
Speaker: Caryl Clark, Faculty of Music, U of T Title: “Labours of Love: Resurrecting Haydn’s Orfeo” Abstract: In late May 2023, singers from the University of Toronto collaborated with members of […]
Colloquium, March 14, 2024, 2-4pm – Fellows & External Fellows Only – in-person only Topic: "What can we do about the escalating crisis in Canadian youth mental health since 2020?" […]
Speaker: Matti Siemiatycki, Geography and Planning, U of T Title: “Patterns, Causes and Cures for Cost Overruns and Delays in Mega-Project Delivery” Abstract: It is all too familiar an experience […]
Speaker: Jesse Billett, Divinity, Trinity College, Divinity, Trinity College; Centre for Medieval Studies Title: “The Lost Chants of Anglo-Saxon England” Abstract: In 1086, two decades after the Norman Conquest, the […]
April 1, 2024, 2-4pm – Fellows and External Fellows William Carlsen, Jungle of Stone: The Extraordinary Journey of John L. Stephens and Frederick Catherwood and The Discovery of the Lost […]
Speaker: Rafaël Newman, Comparative Literature, Zurich Title: “The Work of Art in the Age of Neural Machine Translation” Abstract: “But the instant the criterion of authenticity ceases to be applicable […]
19th Annual Senior College Symposium, Wed. April 17, 2024 9am to 4pm at the U of T Faculty Club, 41 Willcocks (or by Zoom) Disappearing Discourses? New Perspectives on Canadian […]
May 6, 2024, 2-4pm – Fellows and External Fellows Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and The New Human (2022) Discussion Leader: William Logan Mukherjee […]
"Meet Your Colleagues" Summer Sessions Thursdays 2-4pm on Zoom only - Fellows and External Fellows only May 30, 2024: Susan Pfeiffer Anthropology is the study of humans at the broadest of levels, […]
June 3, 2024, 2-4pm, - Fellows and External Fellows Helen Macdonald, H Is for Hawk (2014) Discussion leader: Peter Alberti Are you ready for a strange but compelling read? Already […]
"Meet Your Colleagues" Summer Sessions Thursdays 2-4pm on Zoom only - Fellows and External Fellows only June 13, 2024: Jonathan Dostrovsky Jonathan Dostrovsky Jonathan Dostrovsky will present a biographical illustrated account of […]
"Meet Your Colleagues" Summer Sessions Thursdays 2-4pm on Zoom only - Fellows and External Fellows only June 20, 2024: John Kennedy John Kennedy is a psychologist with interests in perception and representation. […]
"Meet Your Colleagues" Summer Sessions Thursdays 2-4pm on Zoom only - Fellows and External Fellows only June 27, 2024: George Steiner Topic: “I will not make this a high science talk. Rather, it […]
July 8, 2024, 2-4pm, - Fellows and External Fellows Alex Ross, The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century (2007) Discussion Leaders: Linda Hutcheon, Michael Hutcheon Have you ever […]
September 9, 2024, 2-4pm, - Fellows and External Fellows Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood (2016) Discussion Leader: Linda Hutcheon A modern retelling of Shakespeare’s The Tempest the novel was commissioned by Random House […]
Speaker: Marlene Shore, Professor Emerita and Senior Scholar, Department of History/York University Title: “Down from the Mountain: Reckoning with Unrest, Risk, and Charlatanism in the Canadian University, 1919-1939” Abstract: In […]
Speaker: Kent Roach, Law, University of Toronto Topic: “Wrongfully Convicted: Lessons from the Canadian Registry” Abstract: This talk will discuss some of the findings from the Canadian Registry of Wrongful […]
Colloquium, September 19, 2024, 2-4pm – Fellows & External Fellows Only – in-person only Topic: “How to deal with tensions that have erupted on campuses as a result of the […]
Speaker: Lissa Paul, Professor of English, Brock University Title: “Children’s Literature and Literary History: From Beowulf to Virginia Woolf and from The Big Bad Wolf to Tom Wolfe” Abstract: Not […]
Speaker: Ian Cusson, Composer Title: “Indigeneity in Contemporary Opera: Wolf-men and Vacations to Prague” Abstract: Ian will explore Indigenous representation in contemporary opera through examples from his body of work, […]
October 7, 2024, 2-4pm, - Fellows and External Fellows Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet by George Monbiot (2022) Discussion Leader: Sara Shettleworth This book by an award-winning […]
Speaker: Kenneth Bartlett, History and Renaissance Studies, U of T Title: “Raphael and the Mystery of the Frame: Art, Science and History in Search of an Answer” Abstract: A copy […]
Speaker: Nandita Bajaj, Executive Director, Population Balance Title: “Connecting the Dots between Reproductive Autonomy and Environmental Sustainability” Abstract: Human population has doubled in the last 50 years, growing from approximately […]
Colloquium, October 17, 2024, 2-4pm – Fellows & External Fellows Only – in-person only Topic: “The issues about introducing a universal basic income in Canada. How to pay for it and […]
Speaker: Soren Brothers, Allan and Helaine Shiff Curator of Climate Change, ROM; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, U of T Title: “Climate, Lakes, and Museums: Intersections and Transdisciplinary Opportunities” Abstract: While climate […]
Speaker: Paul Stevens, English Department, University of Toronto Title: “Robinson Crusoe and the Slave Trade: A Treatise against Adventure” Abstract: The break-out of the Muslim slave trade into the Atlantic […]
November 4, 2024, 2-4pm, - Fellows and External Fellows Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer (2017) Discussion Leader: […]
Speaker: Mary Nyquist, English/Comparative Literature, U of T Title: “Early Modern Freedom, Tyranny, and the Rhetorical Power of ‘Slave’” Abstract: Why is the word “slave” capable of causing such anguish […]
Champions of Rights: Courts and Legislatures? Thursday, November 7th, University of Toronto Faculty Club Lunch (optional) 12:15 Discussion 2:00-4:00 P.M., Wedgewood Room Reception to follow, Fairley Room Free and […]
Speaker: Yvonne Bombard, IHPME, U of T Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, U of T Title: “Delivering Precision Genomic Medicine: Evidence, Policy and Equity” Genetic testing has become […]
Colloquium, November 14, 2024, 2-4pm – Fellows & External Fellows Only – in-person only Topic: “The problems of social media” Organized by: Phil Sullivan Lunch before the colloquium The lunch is […]
Speaker: Clifford Orwin, Political Science, U of T Title: “The Double 24-Hour Makeover Election” Abstract: The venerable conservative columnist George Will — a retired professor at the U of T! — […]
Speaker: Franca Iacovetta, History, U of T, and Cynthia Wright, School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, York U Title: “Remembering Emma Goldman in Toronto, 1920s-2020s” Abstract: Emma Goldman – […]
December 2, 2024, 2-4pm, - Fellows and External Fellows Culture: The Story of Us from Cave-Art to K Pop by Martin Puchner (2023) Discussion Leader: Meg Fox Harvard literary historian Martin Puchner […]
January 6, 2024, 2-4pm, - Fellows and External Fellows Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis (2015) Discussion Leader: Meg Fox André Alexis offers “an utterly compelling and affecting look at the […]
Wednesday Talk: January 8 , 2025, at 2pm. It is in-person and on Zoom Speaker: Elizabeth Clare, Biology, York University Title: “A Chance to Measure Life on Earth: The Potential of Airborne […]
Wednesday Talk: January 15 , 2025, at 2pm. It is in-person and on Zoom Speaker: Gerry Friesen, History, University of Manitoba Title: “The Honourable John Norquay: Indigenous Premier, Canadian Statesman” […]
Colloquium, January 16, 2025, 2-4pm – Fellows & External Fellows Only – in-person only Topic: “How do we deal with the crisis in aging?” Organized by Marty Klein Lunch before the colloquium […]
Wednesday Talk: January 22 , 2025, at 2pm. It is in-person and on Zoom Speaker: Anne Urbancic, Italian; Semiotics, Victoria College, U of T Title: “Large Double Double: How Tim […]
Wednesday Talk: January 29 , 2025, at 2pm. It is in-person and on Zoom Speaker: Sharon Vattay, architectural historian, cultural heritage specialist Topic: “Toronto's Massey Music Hall: Conservation in Practice" […]
February 3 2025, 2-4pm, - Fellows and External Fellows Mapping the Darkness: The Visionary Scientists who Unlocked the Mysteries of Sleep by Kenneth Miller (2023) Discussion Leader: Daphne Maurer The […]
March 3 2025, 2-4pm, - Fellows and External Fellows Homelands: A Personal History of Europe by Timothy Garton Ash (2023) Discussion Leader: David Milne Winner of the 2024 Gelner Prize, […]
April 7, 2025, 2-4pm, - Fellows and External Fellows The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (1974) Discussion Leader: Molly Wills Successful both as literature and as a thought experiment, […]
May 5, 2025, 2-4pm, - Fellows and External Fellows The Odyssey by Homer, in the new poetic translation by Emily Wilson (2017) Discussion Leaders: Linda Hutcheon and Martin Revermann Homer's […]
June 2, 2025, 2-4pm, - Fellows and External Fellows The Valley of the Birdtail by Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii) (2022) Discussion leader: Janet Paterson This book […]
July 7, 2025, 2-4pm, - Fellows and External Fellows The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI by Fei-Fei Li (2023) Discussion Leader: Susan Pfeiffer […]
