This fall, Tuesday Noon Academy, Scripps’ midday speaker series, hosts a dynamic mix of scholars, writers, and composers—including one Scripps alumna—who will present thought-provoking lunchtime talks that are open to the Claremont community.
“Tuesday Noon is a singular opportunity for our community to encounter new research, emerging writers and artists, and to be able to engage in these ideas in an intimate setting,” says Corrina Lesser, Scripps’ director of public events and community programs.
“Oftentimes, this engagement is an extension of the conversations that are already happening in the classroom, but by opening up the room to students, staff, faculty, and folks from Claremont and beyond, there’s a chance for a different kind of discussion.”
Tuesday Noon kicks off on September 20 with a talk by classical studies scholar Mary Beard, a Cambridge University professor and author of the best-selling books The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found and the National Book Critics Circle Award–nominated Confronting the Classics: Traditions, Adventures, and Innovations. As an active blogger, Beard has made a space for Ancient Rome in our popular discourse, and this marks a rare stateside appearance where she’ll discuss her research and share her perspective on being a 21st-century feminist scholar.
In addition, several Tuesday Noon events are presented in partnership with the Scripps College Humanities Institute, whose fall programs are organized around the theme “The War on Terror: 15 Years Later.” On October 4, Pomona Associate Professor of Anthropology Pardis Mahdavi will critique the discourses on trafficking and terror, and, on November 1, Scripps Assistant Professor of Politics Sumita Pahwa will explore how Western policy has been viewed through the lens of local religious politics to mobilize Islamist militancy.
Other talks include a reading by Scripps alumna Nora Zelevansky ’06, who share from her recent novel, Will You Won’t You Want Me?, and explain how her time at Scripps influenced her writing and helped her build a career as a journalist; a discussion of Asian vocal and instrumental techniques in Western musical languages by composer Koji Nakano; and a lecture on California Scene painting by art collector and Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University founder Mark Hilbert.
According to Lesser, each of the Tuesday Noon events is intended to be “provocative and lively, but also casual—a totally enjoyable way to spend a lunch hour.”
Attendees may bring lunch or purchase it at the Malott Commons dining hall. Coffee and tea are provided. Doors to the Hampton Room open at 11:45am. For a complete schedule of Tuesday Noon Academy programs, click here.