Critical Intersections: Conversations on History, Race, and Science

The 2021-2022 Critical Intersections series will focus on the theme "Putting the University in its Place." A series of talks, events, and interactive programs will invite members of the Caltech community - many of whom have only recently returned to the physical facilities of the Institute - to reflect on what being "at" Caltech means. How have our experiences of engaging in campus activities remotely, or being on campus in isolation, expanded or altered our understanding of where Caltech is and what being a part of it means?

The first event in this year's series - a conversation with Mordechai (Moti) Feingold, historian of science and early modern Europe - will establish a baseline for subsequent conversation about Caltech's place in a constellation of material, social, intellectual, and economic structures that define the space of "The University." Professor Feingold will take campus members on a fascinating tour through the many histories of distinct institutions and practices that, by the turn of the twentieth century, merged to form the single entity that we now consider "The University." By highlighting the diversity of histories that combined to form the modern or contemporary notion of what constitutes higher education, Professor Feingold will give the audience for this talk a set of tools for thinking about how The University wound up in its current condition, and what that might mean for the future of Caltech and other institutions of higher learning.

To RSVP for this event, please click here. (Please note, this event is open to the Caltech community only.)