Thursday, April 17, 2025, 6-7:30 p.m.
Art and Activism: An Evening with Nadya Tolokonnikova
An artist talk with conceptual artist and political activist Nadya Tolokonnikova and contemporary arts curator Patricia Restrepo
Rockwell Pavilion, M.D. Anderson Library at UH
In collaboration with the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts

Thursday, March 27, 2025, 4-5:30 p.m.
Change has arrived. What's Next for Public Education
Robert Pondiscio, American Enterprise Institute
Space City Room, UH Student Center-South

Thursday, March 20, 4-5:30 p.m.
Unlocking Potential: The Power of Prison Education
Mary Nell Trautner, University of Buffalo 
Space City Room, UH Student Center-South  

Thursday, Feb. 27, 4-6 p.m.
The Work Ethic and the Post-Work Ethic
Richard Gelwick Endowed Lecture
Elizabeth Anderson, University of Michigan
Rockwell Pavilion, M.D. Anderson Library

Monday, Feb. 10, 3:30-5 p.m.
Fighting for Justice: Implementing Rights Restoration
Hannah Walker, University of Texas at Austin
Elizabeth D. Rockwell Lecture Series
Bates Law Building, Heritage Room

The 2024 Future of American Democracy Lecture Series presented by the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center on Ethics and Leadership

The Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center on Ethics and Leadership held a fall lecture series examining the state of democracy and political climate in the U.S. during a presidential election year. The Future of American Democracy lectures covered how key issues and polarization impact communities in Texas and across the country and what challenges undermine democracy, with prominent speakers committed to reenergizing and strengthening political participation and democratic institutions.

America in Crisis and Renewal with George Packer

American journalist and acclaimed author George Packer kicked off the series on Sept. 12. Packer discussed his latest book, "Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal," which seeks to understand the current moment and offers a path forward for overcoming the country's fractures, injustices and divisions.

Thank you for joining us. Click here for photos from the event.

Our America with Julián Castro

Former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro discussed the state of politics and democracy in America on Oct. 3. Drawing on his experiences as a former presidential candidate, cabinet member in the Obama administration and mayor of San Antonio, Castro defined his vision for the future of our country.

The State of American Democracy with Adam Kinzinger

Former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger recounted his time in Congress and shared his hopeful vision for the country's future on Nov. 13. The former Illinois congressman was one of two Republicans to serve on the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol. Kinzinger discussed his feelings of dissent as he stood against his party and detail his perspective on a democracy under siege. For a limited time, watch a recording of the event for educational purposes. The case-sensitive password is Rockwell. 

Password: Rockwell

April 5, 2024, 2 pm: Michael Sierra-Arevalo, UT-Austin, The Danger Imperative: Violence, Death, and the Soul of Policing.
Honors Commons, M.D. Anderson Library

April 5, 2024, 12:00 – 1:30 pm (Central Time, Houston-Chicago): Mercer Gary, The Hastings Center, “Moral Luck, Normative Ambivalence, and the Vagaries of Care.”  

Thursday, March 21, 2024, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

The Healing Project with Samora Pinderhughes
The Eldorado Ballroom. 2310 Elgin Blvd., Houston, Texas 

 Tuesday, March 19, 2024, 2:00 – 3:15 pm

A Space for Healing with Samora Pinderhughes
Elizabeth D. Rockwell Pavilion, M.D. Anderson Library, UH Campus 
Watch Talk

March 1, 2024, 12:00 – 1:30 pm (Central Time, Houston-Chicago): Jason Danely, Oxford Brookes University, “Unsettled Futures: Aging, Care and Carcerality in Japan.” Watch Here. 

February 26, 2024, 4:00-6:00 pm (CST) Victoria McGeer, Princeton University, "Why do we punish? Confronting the myth of folk retributivism," Honors Commons.

ABSTRACT: Converging lines of research in behavioural economics and social psychology indicate that human beings are strongly motivated to punish wrongdoers, even at cost to themselves.  But why do we punish? One influential view is that we have a ‘brutely retributive’ moral psychology – i.e. it is part of our species nature to embrace the ‘backward-looking’ norm that wrongdoers should be punished because, and only because, of the wrong they have done (and in proportion to their wrongdoing).   In this paper, I present evidence that reveals a forward-looking transformative dimension to the moral psychology of punishment. This argues against the ‘brute retributivist’ view.  In its place, I propose a complex model of our blaming moral psychology that nevertheless accommodates what appear to be deep and persistent retributive features.  I conclude by considering some normative implications that may be drawn from this research relevant to the domain of criminal justice. 

February 15, 2024, 10:00 – 11:30 am: Johannes Himmelreich, “AI and Public Policy,” Teaching Unit 2 (next to Bates Law), Room 215.

January 26, 2024, 12:00 – 1:30 pm (Central Time, Houston-Chicago): Sarah Clark Miller, Penn State University, “Understanding Sexual Violence through Care Theory.”

January 26-27, 2024: Old Lessons for New Challenges:What the Past Can Teach About AI and New Media? Location: Student Court South Heights and Skyline Room. Panels are listed in the Conference Program.

"Old Lessons for New Challenges" will invite scholars from various humanity specializations and interests – ancient as well as modern, philosophical, historical, literary, and political – to apply lessons from the humanities to address challenges raised by social media and/or AI. Watch the conference

November 17, 2023, 12:00 – 1:30 pm (Central Time, Houston-Chicago): Monique Lanoix, Saint Paul University, “Care Labor: Between Two Worlds.” Watch Lecture. 

November 2-3, 2023: EDR Center Article Prize Announcement

November 1, 2023, 6:00 – 7:15 pm: Richard Gelwick Endowed Lecture: Melissa Murray, “Dobbs and Democracy,” Rockwell Pavilion (M.D. Anderson Library, second floor). Watch lecture. 

October 20, 2023, 12:00 – 1:30 pm (Central Time, Houston-Chicago): Amy Mullin, University of Toronto, “Dementia, Respect and Care.”  Watch the lecture.

October 11, 2023, 6:00 – 7:00 pm: Tom Malleson, “Against Inequality,” Zoom Lecture.

October 5, 2023, 6:00 – 7:15 pm: Elizabeth D. Rockwell Distinguished Lecture: Anita Hill, Brandeis University, “Believing: the First Step to Change,”. Watch the lecture

October 6-8, 2023: Cosmologies of Care Conference: a conference exploring diverse new perspectives on care ethics. Watch the conference.

October 2, 2023: Tara Smith, UT-Austin.

September 28, 2023, 4:00 – 6:00 pm: Jonathan Rapping Lecture, Founder/Chief Executive of Gideons Promise and Professor of Law at John Marshall Law School, “Forging a More Humane Vision of Justice,” Shamrock Room, UH Hilton. Watch the live stream.

September 29, 2023, 1:00 – 1:50 pm:Jonathan Rapping, Grand Challenges Forum, Cemo Hall.

Friday, April 28, 2023, 12:00 – 1:30 pm (Central Time, Houston-Chicago): Helena Hirata, University of Paris VIII.
Zoom Replay

Friday, March 10, 2023, 12:00 – 1:30 pm (Central Time, Houston-Chicago): Lina-Maria Murillo, University of Iowa.
Zoom Replay

March 2, 2023, 4:00 – 5:30 pm: Greg Scott, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies (Sociology), DePaul University (“Sociology in Action” Lecture organized by the UH Sociology Department), Elizabeth D. Rockwell Pavilion.

Professor Greg Scott is a visual sociologist, artist, and filmmaker. He is the founder and president of Sawbuck Productions, Inc., a non-profit organization that produces observational documentary films, experimental art films and other multimedia content. Greg is also the founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Video Ethnography, the first-ever academic journal of peer-reviewed ethnographic films. His sociological work focuses on the socio-cultural dynamics of street level drug markets and drug using communities, while his artistic work revolves around the rituals, norms, customs, and folklore of small town life in the American Midwest. His documentary films have screened at festivals around the world and his work has appeared on radio and television, including the National Geographic Network, BET Network and MSNBC. In 2008 Greg received the Lisagor Award for Best Investigative/Public Service Reporting for his Chicago Public Radio series The Brickyard: Life on the Streets of Chicago.

February 23-25, 2023: “Liberal Education, Commercial Innovation, and the Public Good Conference,” organized by Political Science and Honors College faculty.

Friday, February 24, 2023, 12:00 – 1:30 pm (Central Time, Houston-Chicago): James Thompson, The University of Manchester, “Care Aesthetics.”
Zoom Replay

Thursday, Feb. 16, 1:00 – 2:00 pm in the Honors Commons Pathways to Equity series:Jason Casellas, Dept. of Political Science, UH, “Equity and Representation in Policymaking”

February 6, 2023: Op-Ed Project Workshop at UH. First day in-person meeting.

February 2, 2023, 4:00 – 5:30 pm: Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, UC-Berkeley Law School, “Worse than Nothing: The Dangerous Fallacy of Originalism,” UH Hilton Shamrock Ballroom. Dean Chemerinsky will discuss his recent book on the Supreme Court doctrine of original intent as well as recent Supreme Court cases and the politics of the Court. More Information.

February 2, 2023, 1:00 – 2:00 pm: Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, UC-Berkeley Law School. A discussion about law school, the Supreme Court, and free speech with lots of times for Q&A. CEMO 101.

Friday, January 27, 2023, 12:00 – 1:30 pm (Central Time, Houston-Chicago): Justin Clardy, Santa Clara University, “Black Polyamory and Civic Tenderness.”
Zoom replay

Friday, November 4, 2022, 12:00 – 1:30 pm (Central Time, Houston-Chicago): Robert Gottlieb, Occidental College, Care-Centered Politics (MIT Press, 2022).

Watch Replay

October 28-29, 2022: Healing Injustice: Innovating Holistic Defense Conference. 

The United States (U.S.) leads the world in a grim statistic: approximately 6.5 million people are incarcerated or under criminal justice supervision (e.g., probation, parole). Moreover, the affected population is disproportionately comprised of people of color, people with disabilities, and people living in poverty. The right to a defense attorney when someone is charged with a crime is enshrined in the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution. However, the quality of this defense is often inadequate due to under-resourcing, raising questions about people's constitutional rights.

Holistic indigent defense refers to approaches that engage “teams of professionals that address a range of the client’s needs rather than simply a heroic solitary lawyer who represents a defendant solely at criminal trial.” This approach attempts to address not only clients’ legal needs, but also seeks to ameliorate the impact of arrest and incarceration (e.g., employment, housing, nutrition, access to health care). 

This is a groundbreaking conference that brings together lawyers, social workers, community health workers, human services professionals, students, and data scientists to engage with the possibilities of reshaping the way that people without economic means experience legal representation. 

Thursday, October 6, 2022, 12:00 – 1:30 pm (Central Time, Houston-Chicago): Hil Malatino, Penn State, Trans Care (University of Minnesota Press, 2020). 

Watch Replay

September 29 – October 1, 2022: Healing Arts Houston: Innovations in Arts and Health. 

Innovations in Arts and Health: Collaborating for Medical Humanities, Professional Development, and Community Health is an international conference convening the brightest and most creative minds working at the intersection of arts and health in Houston, a global mecca for innovations in the arts, health sciences and medical education. The three-day conference is part of the global series “The Future is Unwritten: Healing Arts,” produced in partnership with the World Health Organization and Culturunners. Healing Arts Houston is open to the public and will be a dynamic space for dialogue, learning and inspiration. Practicing artists, healthcare professionals, medical educators, and scholars are welcome to attend.

Friday, September 9, 2022, 12:00 – 1:30 pm (CDT, Houston-Chicago): Maggie Fitzgerald, University of Saskatchewan, Care and the Pluriverse: Rethinking Global Ethics (Bristol University Press, July 2022). Commentary by Maurice Hamington, Portland State University.