Danielle Allen: “Democracy in the Time of Coronavirus”
During the course of four lectures, Danielle Allen, the James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University and Director of Harvard’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, explored the distinctive challenges posed to democracy by the emergency conditions brought by a global pandemic. She also described the specific resources the U.S. Constitutional system has for achieving resilience in the face of this existential threat.
Ian Bostridge: “Musical Identities”
Acclaimed tenor Ian Bostridge looked at how classical music can express the inexpressible: the nature of existence; the fluidity of identity; the inevitability of death. Through three Berlin Family Lectures focused on “Musical Identities,” Bostridge explored and evaluated some of the works at the very center of the classical vocal repertoire, asking how they construct identities—historically, poetically, and musically.
Lecture 1 - Identity in Performance
Sunday, April 11, 1 to 2:30 p.m. CDT
Claudia Rankine: "Meanwhile"
Lecture 1 - Meanwhile in the Work of Artist Jennifer Packer
April 6, 2022, 6 to 7:30 p.m. CT
Lecture 2 - Meanwhile in the Work of Artist and Filmmaker Titus Kaphar
April 13, 2022, 6 to 7:30 p.m. CT
Lecture 3 - Meanwhile: A Work in Progress
April 14, 2022, 6 to 7:30 p.m. CT
Mary Beard: "What Can We Learn from the Classics?"
Acclaimed classicist Mary Beard challenged what the Classics mean by exploring the fun, the dangers, and the heady uncertainties and how they relate and don’t pertain to the present. Through three lectures Beard compared the art of antiquity to modern times and the central role of the humanities in facing up to the dilemmas of modernity. She introduced a cast of characters from ancient gladiators to Marxist theorists and 20th-century poets.
Lecture 1 - A Piece of Cake
April 20, 2023, 6 to 7:30 p.m. CDT
Daniel Mendelsohn: "Twisty Ways"
Homer begins the Odyssey by referring to its hero as a man of “twisty ways”—a description that suits both the wily Odysseus as well as the notoriously convoluted itinerary that brings him home from the Trojan War after 20 years of wandering. Daniel Mendelsohn appropriates Homer’s metaphor as a way of exploring the nature of translation and the role of the translator more generally.
Yuval Sharon: "Anarchy at the Opera"
Visionary opera director Yuval Sharon presented the 2025 Randy L. and Melvin R. Berlin Family Lectures on May 6, 13, and 20, which consisted of three public lectures and a special performance of John Cage’s Europera 5.
Lecture 1: "Anarchy at the Opera" - May 6, 2025
Lecture 2: "Burn Down the Opera Houses!" - May 13, 2025
Lecture 3: “John Cage's Joyous Anarchy” and Performance of John Cage’s Europera 5 - May 20, 2025
Yiyun Li: "Placeholder and Serendipity"
On March 31, April 7, and April 14, internationally acclaimed writer Yiyun Li delivered the 2026 Berlin Lectures. The three lectures investigated two less-discussed roles of literature: as a placeholder and as a place where discoveries happen by serendipity. During a contentious time when humanistic values often feel as though besieged, and life is increasingly driven by quests and outcomes, Li discusses her eclectic reading practice and her life experience as an exploration of how to stay enchanted with a muddled and disenchanting world.
Past Lectures
Explore the previous Berlin Family Lectures, including session information and recordings of each year's series.
Publications
Each lecture series is developed into a publication with the University of Chicago Press. This collaboration with one of the premier university presses in the world gives the ideas and words of each lecture continued life in print form.
Series History
Inaugurated in 2014 with a gift from Randy and Melvin Berlin, the Berlin Family Lectures brings to campus leading scholars, writers, and creative artists from around the world. Each academic year, the visitor delivers an extended series of lectures, participates in the university’s intellectual community, and develops a book for publication with the University of Chicago Press.