Events & Media
Lectures
Craig Calhoun has delivered numerous lectures that discuss critical issues such as democracy, nationalism, cosmopolitanism, and the human condition. These lectures are often part of distinguished series and are hosted by various academic institutions. Here are some notable examples:
2026 — Academia Without Purpose: Or, Why the Right Is Angry at Universities and Why Fifty Years of Changes Have Made It Hard for Universities to Respond Effectively, Centre for Global Higher Education, University of Oxford
2025 — Civic Space in an Uncivic World, Keynote Lecture, CiviCon 2025
2025 — The Persistence of the Nation in an Era of Globalization, IRLA Foundation Inaugural Lecture, Barcelona
2025 — Nations, Nationalism, and the Future of Democracy, Public Lecture
2024 — Marcuse Returns to the Zeitgeist, Public Lecture, Princeton Center for Human Values, Princeton NJ
2024 — Democracy's Challenges, Lectio Magistralis Series, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg FL
2024 — Degenerations of Democracy & What Is Next, Western College Legacy Seminar, Miami University, Oxford OH
2023 — Persons: Created, Artificial, and Natural, Josef Pieper Keynote, University of Notre Dame
2023 — Artificial Persons? Corporations, States, and People, Sociology Colloquium, Princeton University
2023 — Scale and Democracy, Institute for Human Sciences, Vienna
2023 — Democracy at Different Scales, Rebuilding Democracy Conference, El Colegio de México, Mexico City
2023 — Degenerations of Democracy, American University of Paris
2023 — Alienation, Solidarity, and the Future of Democratic Societies, Symposium, Harvard University, Cambridge MA
2022 — Reversing the Degenerations of Democracy, Clough Distinguished Lecture, Boston College
2022 — Degenerations of Democracy, SPGS/GFL Colloquium, Arizona State University, Tempe AZ
2022 — Degenerations of Democracy, ASU Center for Work and Democracy, Tempe AZ
2022 — Dismantling Democracy from Within, CEU Summer University, Budapest
2022 — What Does Democracy Need?, Institute for Human Sciences, Vienna
2021 — A New Roadmap for Science and Society, Science and Democracy Lecture, Harvard STS Program, Cambridge MA
2021 — Master Class: Karl Polanyi's Great Transformation (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), ISCTE University, Lisbon
2020 — Pandemic Nationalism, CERC Migration Lecture, Ryerson University, Toronto
2020 — Are Digital Futures Choice or Fate?, CDCS Digital Launch Keynote, University of Edinburgh
2019 — Thinking Across Scales: From Place-Based Community to Large-Scale Social Integration, 1st Internationale Konferenz
2018 — Cosmopolitanism and Belonging, Social Science Matrix Distinguished Lecture, UC Berkeley
2018 — Jodidi Lecture, Harvard University
2017 — Populism, Polarization, and Democracy, Thesis Eleven Lecture, La Trobe University, Melbourne
2015 — A Higher Purpose for Politics, St Paul's Cathedral, London
2015 — Ralph Dahrendorf Lecture, St. Antony's College, University of Oxford
2014 — The Power of Imagination, Reset DOC – Dialogues on Civilizations
2014 — Athens Lecture, London School of Economics
2014 — A Social Science Manifesto, FAPESP, São Paulo
2014 — The Legacy of World War I, London School of Economics
2014 — Comparative Advantage, Economics Series, London School of Economics
2014 — William Temple Lecture, University of Manchester
2013 — Human Suffering and Humanitarian Response, Durham Castle Lecture Series, Durham University
2013 — Willem Aubert Lecture, University of Oslo
2013 — Fred Halliday Memorial Lecture, LSE
2013 — Tanner Lecture on Human Values, University of Michigan
2012 — Ralph Miliband Memorial Lecture, LSE
2011 — Albert Morris Lecture, Boston University
2010 — Free Inquiry and the Public Mission, CCIG Keynote Lecture (as President, Social Science Research Council)
2009 — Dennis F. and Brooks Holt Lecture, USC
2007 — Sir Robert Birley Lecture, City University of London
2007 — Ernest Gellner Memorial Lecture, LSE
2004 — Pitirim Sorokin Lecturer, University of Saskatchewan
2001 — Hans Speier Distinguished Lecturer, New School for Social Research
2000 — Benjamin J. Meaker Distinguished Visiting Professor, University of Bristol