Being Human

An interview with Lee Gutkind, writer and founder of the literary journal Creative Nonfiction. The interview was conducted live at the University of Pittsburgh on July 20, 2018. It was part of the concluding event for Pitt's 2018 Summer Science Writing Workshop, organized by Lillian Chong. The event began with students from the workshop reading some of the science writing they had developed over the summer. You can read those works here: medium.com/lab-musings-summer-2018.

An interview with Robin Bernstein, Dillon Professor of American History at Harvard University. We were honored to have Professor Bernstein at Pitt to give the Humanities Center's 2018 Faculty Seminar. The interview focuses on Professor Bernstein's life and career, particularly her work on childhood and performance studies.

An interview with Rob Nixon, professor of English at Princeton University. The interview focuses on Professor Nixon's life and career, particularly his work in environmental criticism and public humanities. You can find his book Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor here: www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674072343. The essay we discuss, How to Read a Bridge, can be found here: www.environmentandsociety.org/perspectiv…ead-bridge.

An interview with Judith Peraino, professor in the Department of Music at Cornell University. The interview focuses on Professor Peraino's life and career, particularly her work on connections between music and queer sexuality.

An interview with Rhodessa Jones, co-artistic director of the performance company Cultural Odyssey and creator of the Medea Project: Theater for Incarcerated Women. Rhodessa Jones was at Pitt for a month-long residency in February, 2018. During her residency, she worked with students to create a theatrical performance, offered performances of her own work, and gave lectures. The interview focuses on Rhodessa's life and career, particularly the social impact of her work.

An interview with Fred Moten, professor in the Department of Performance Studies at NYU. The interview focuses on Professor Moten's life and career, particularly his recent volume of criticism called "consent not to be a single being." The Nathaniel Mackey poem "Destination Out," which Moten references at the end of the conversation, is available here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/articles/70124/destination-out. 

An interview with Anne Knowles, McBride Professor of History at the University of Maine. The interview focuses on Professor Knowles's life and career, particularly her work with geographical information systems. Stay tuned for a link to the map we discuss at 31:15.

An interview with Christopher Fynsk, professor and dean of the Division of Philosophy, Art, and Critical Thought at the European Graduate School. The interview focuses on Professor Fynsk's life and career, particularly his 2004 book "The Claim of Language: A Case for the Humanities."

An interview with author John Edgar Wideman. The interview focuses on Wideman's life and career, particularly connections between his writing and the various communities of which he has been a part. The conversation also features Leon Ford, a social activist in Pittsburgh. Ford was shot by police in 2012 and is paralyzed as a result. He currently works for social justice in Pittsburgh, and has developed a relationship with Wideman based on their mutual investment in writing. For more on Leon's story see here: http://www.leonfordspeaks.com/. 

An interview with Tommie Shelby, Caldwell Titcomb Professor of African and African American Studies and of Philosophy at Harvard University. The interview focuses on Dr. Shelby's life and career, particularly his work on race and justice.