Live from Amherst! talks are primarily held during the academic year and feature Amherst College professors and alumni discussing their area of expertise and research. These events often coincide with events happening on campus and feature an in-person audience.
Questions, comments or suggestions? Please contact Carly Nartowicz at cnartowicz@amherst.edu.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined Amherst College President Biddy Martin for an onstage conversation at Amherst College on October 3, 2019.
On Monday, September 2, 2019, President Biddy Martin welcomed the Amherst class of 2023. Convocation is the first formal gathering of the first-year students. The traditional ceremony involves a formal procession, musicians and the college Choral Society.
Min Jin Lee, author and writer-in-residence, delivered the DeMott lecture to the incoming class at Amherst College. The incoming class had been assigned to read her novel Pachinko, a finalist for the 2017 National Book Award.
Convocation is the first formal gathering of the first-year students. The president and the faculty, all in full regalia, welcome the students to the college. The traditional ceremony involves a formal procession, musicians and the college Choral Society.
The DeMott lecture is the welcome address to incoming students. Danielle Allen, former trustee of Amherst College, received an honorary degree from Amherst College at the 2018 Commencement ceremony.
Hugh Price ’63, Elizabeth J. Aries and Norm Jones discuss identities on campus, diversity and inclusion, and institutional change. Moderated by Allen Hart ‘82.
Kennedy at the “Poetry and Politics: A Celebration of the Life and Legacy of President John F. Kennedy” symposium, given on the steps of Amherst’s Frost Library—not far from the spot where his great-uncle, the president, gave a short speech almost 54 years to the day.
Rev. Phillip Jackson ’85, this year's DeMott lecturer, pointed to a painting of Charles Hamilton Houston hanging on the wall of Johnson Chapel and said “He is the finest that we have produced—and no one knows about him.”
Talk by William Taubman, the Bertrand Snell Professor of Political Science, Emeritus
Catherine Epstein, Dean of the Faculty, Winkley Professor of History, Ronald Rosbottom, Winifred L. Arms Professor in the Arts and Humanities and Professor of French and European Studies, and David Roll ’62 discuss topics related to World War II.
Cornell William Brooks, president and CEO of the NAACP, began his talk (presented here in full)—a talk that would end with a prolonged standing ovation—with a self-deprecating anecdote about being a young, naïve, preacher.
Amherst welcomed legislator, activist and scholar Hanan Ashrawi to campus for a talk and Q&A. An influential Palestinian leader, Ashrawi is a former professor of English literature known for her advocacy of Palestinian self-determination and peace in the Middle East.
Five well-known political journalists -- Julia Ioffe, Politico Magazine, Abby Phillip, The Washington Post, Jessica Taylor, National Public Radio, Byron Tau, The Wall Street Journal -- take a break from the campaign trail to share insights with the Amherst community. Moderated by Tim Murphy of Mother Jones.