Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard

The 2026 Tanner Lectures are this week! Join us for Lecture One on Wed 4/15 and Lecture Two on Thurs 4/16, both at 4pm in John Knowles Paine Concert Hall. For full event details: https://mahindrahumanities.harvard.edu/tanner-lectures

Join us April 15-17 for the 2026 Tanner Lectures with James Forman Jr. (Yale University): "University Admissions and the American Dream: Who Gets In - And Why It Matters."

Decisions by the United States Supreme Court and the Trump administration have compelled universities to revise their admissions policies. These lectures ask whether higher education can still function as an engine of social mobility in today’s political and legal climate—and, if so, what kinds of admissions policies might help fulfill that promise.

The first lecture situates American universities within the longer historical arc of meritocracy and exclusion, tracing how they have served–for good and for ill–as gatekeepers to the American Dream. The second lecture turns to the present moment, analyzing recent political and legal developments and highlighting new approaches to fostering campus diversity and inclusion.

Lecture One: Wednesday 4/15
Lecture Two: Thursday 4/16
Both lectures take place at 4:00pm at John Knowles Paine Concert Hall and are free and open to the public.

Full event details: https://mahindrahumanities.harvard.edu/tanner-lectures

Just two more days to submit your proposals! Applications accepted through 11:59pm tomorrow, February 13th. See our previous post & website for full details.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: The MHC and Psychedelics in Society & Culture Initiative is accepting applications for 2026-27 funding. This initiative funds projects on psychedelics by Harvard undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty. It aims to enrich our understanding of psychedelics, their implications for human experiences, multiple histories, cultural contexts and resonances, and significance for various societies.

Much research on psychedelics to date has focused on their potential for therapeutic applications. Rather than the clinical investigation of psychedelics, this funding program supports collaborations at the intersections of psychedelics and humanistic inquiry. We hope to support research into the role of psychedelics across histories, cultures, and geographies.

Applications are open through Friday, February 13. For full details, visit our website: https://mahindrahumanities.harvard.edu/psychedelics-society-and-culture-funding

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: The MHC and Psychedelics in Society & Culture Initiative is accepting applications for 2026-27 funding. This initiative funds projects on psychedelics by Harvard undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty. It aims to enrich our understanding of psychedelics, their implications for human experiences, multiple histories, cultural contexts and resonances, and significance for various societies.

Much research on psychedelics to date has focused on their potential for therapeutic applications. Rather than the clinical investigation of psychedelics, this funding program supports collaborations at the intersections of psychedelics and humanistic inquiry. We hope to support research into the role of psychedelics across histories, cultures, and geographies.

Applications are open through Friday, February 13. For full details, visit our website: https://mahindrahumanities.harvard.edu/psychedelics-society-and-culture-funding

Tomorrow (1/28) at 6pm: Join us for Steve McQueen's fourth Norton Lecture, "Occupied City!"

Free tickets available through Harvard Box Office. Full event details: https://mahindrahumanities.harvard.edu/steve-mcqueen-norton-four

This Friday 1/16!

Can't attend in person? Join via the livestream: https://mghihp.zoom.us/j/88967496792

Friday, January 16: Expansive Wisdom: Psychedelics Beyond the Clinical Lens

Join us for a half-day of inquiry into aspects of psychedelic experiences that the clinical discourse cannot metabolize, but that the humanities can access -- with story, myth, and symbol.⁠

A group of interdisciplinary faculty will reflect with each other and with the audience about the possibilities of humanistic inquiry into psychedelics. This Relational, Conversational Gathering is intentionally designed to mirror the values at the heart of psychedelic-assisted modalities.⁠

Attendees should expect to participate in the conversation and leave with inquiry about their own humanistic influences.⁠

REGISTER: https://expansivewisdomsymposium.rsvpify.com/⁠

This event is presented with funding from the Psychedelics in Society & Culture Initiative.

Friday, January 16: Expansive Wisdom: Psychedelics Beyond the Clinical Lens

Join us for a half-day of inquiry into aspects of psychedelic experiences that the clinical discourse cannot metabolize, but that the humanities can access -- with story, myth, and symbol.⁠

A group of interdisciplinary faculty will reflect with each other and with the audience about the possibilities of humanistic inquiry into psychedelics. This Relational, Conversational Gathering is intentionally designed to mirror the values at the heart of psychedelic-assisted modalities.⁠

Attendees should expect to participate in the conversation and leave with inquiry about their own humanistic influences.⁠

REGISTER: https://expansivewisdomsymposium.rsvpify.com/⁠

This event is presented with funding from the Psychedelics in Society & Culture Initiative.

Tonight at 6pm! Join us for Steve McQueen's third Norton Lecture, "Bass," centering on his 2024 art piece of the same name, an immersive installation comprised of the most basic structural elements of film—light and sound—that upends our perception of space, time, and ourselves.

Free tickets are still available through the Harvard Box Office (online, over the phone, and in-person at the Smith Center Box Office) and can also be obtained before the lecture at the Sanders Theatre Box Office beginning at 4:00pm.

This Thursday 11/6: Join us for the third Norton Lecture with Steve McQueen, "Bass." Free tickets are available now through the Harvard Box Office.

Full details can be found on our website: https://mahindrahumanities.harvard.edu/steve-mcqueen-norton-three

Tickets are available NOW for Steve McQueen's third Norton Lecture, "Bass" (Thursday, Nov. 6 at 6pm)!

Free tickets can be obtained through the Harvard Box Office: online, in person at the Smith Campus Center box office, or by phone. Handling fees apply for online and phone sales. Tickets also available in person at Sanders Theatre starting two hours prior to each lecture, subject to availability.

Visit the link in our bio to reserve tickets and for full event information.
(Seating is first come, first served. Limit of four tickets per person. Tickets valid until 5:45pm.)