The Wilson College of Leadership & Civic Engagement and the Centre for Scholarship in the Public Interest invite you to a special lecture event.

Dr. Cornel West is the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair at Union Theological Seminary (UTS) in New York City. He teaches on the works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, as well as a range of courses in Philosophy of Religion and African American Critical Thought. Formerly, Dr. West was Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at Harvard University and Professor Emeritus at Princeton University.

West is an author of 20 books and editor of 13. He is best known for his classics, Race Matters and Democracy Matters, and for his memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud. His most recent book, Black Prophetic Fire, offers an unflinching look at nineteenth and twentieth-century African American leaders and their visionary legacies. He is a regular guest on the Bill Maher Show, CNN, C-Span, and Democracy Now.

The Role of Education in our Catastrophic Times

In an era defined by creeping fascism, neoliberal hegemony, and the complicity of higher education in suppressing dissent, Dr. Cornel West calls for a radical reimagining of education as a force for democratic renewal. This talk explores the urgent role of higher education, faculty, and students in reclaiming universities as democratic public spheres, where critical thinking and civic engagement thrive. Dr. West critiques the neoliberalization of academia, its alignment with the military-industrial complex, and its failure to challenge rising authoritarianism. He urges academics to embrace their role as public intellectuals, fostering resistance, hope, and the pursuit of justice in these catastrophic times.

Watch on YouTube