Award-winning Iranian writer Azar Nafisi will speak on “The Republic of Imagination: Humanities and the Future of Democracies” at the Best Should Teach Lecture from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20, at Macky Auditorium.
The talk is free of charge and open to the public. Tickets are required. (Reserve your ticket at https://bestshouldteach.eventbrite.com).
The name of the talk reflects the title of Nafisi’s newest book, The Republic of Imagination: America in Three Books. Nafisi is a visiting professor and the executive director of Cultural Conversations at the Foreign Policy Institute of Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C.
As a professor of aesthetics, culture and literature, she teaches on the relationship between culture and politics. She held a fellowship at Oxford University, conducting lectures on culture and the important roles of Western literature and culture in Iran. She has taught in higher education at several institutions in Iran – earning national respect for advocating for Iran’s youth and young women.
In addition, Nafisi has written for The New York Times, Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, and published in The New Republic. She is the author of Anti-Terra: A Critical Study of Vladimir Nabokov’s Novels, Things I Have Been Silent About: Memories, and published a children’s book BiBi and the Green Voice. Her current project is entitled Republic of the Imagination, which is about the power of literature to liberate minds and peoples.
The event is co-sponsored by the CU-Boulder Graduate School, College of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate Teacher Program and the School of Education. The Best Should Teach Initiative celebrates excellence in teaching at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. It supports the preparation of college and university faculty, as well as public school teachers, in their disciplinary fields. Best Should Teach Gold and Silver Awards are presented at the event each year.
Key details:
- When: 7 to 8:30 p.m.; doors open at 6 p.m.
- Where: Macky Auditorium, 285 University Ave., Boulder
- Tickets: Required. Reserve your free ticket at https://bestshouldteach.eventbrite.com.
- Getting to campus: Because of the volume of students and parents on campus for move-in, traffic on campus and in the city is expected to be heavy. Alternative transportation such as biking, walking, taking the bus or carpooling is recommended. For schedules for the HOP/JUMP/SKIP and other bus routes, contact the Boulder/Denver RTD at rtd-denver.com, 303-299-6000 or 800-366-7433.
- Parking: After 6 p.m. parking for this event will be provided in Lot 380, along Pleasant Street and along University and Grandview avenues, and in the lot behind the Armory building. Due to move-in, parking restrictions may still be in place in other campus lots. ADA parking is available on Pleasant Street in front of Macky. (Find these parking locations at http://www.colorado.edu/macky/plan-your-experience/parking).
- Other parking options: City of Boulder parking is available around Boulder High School and 17th Street and in the University Hill neighborhood.
- Books: Signed copies of The Republic of Imagination will be available for purchase both before and after the event.
Contact:
Renie Dugwyler, Graduate Teacher Program, (M) 303-385-3160
lodu9385@colorado.edu
Merlyn Holmes, Graduate School, (O) 303-492-1825
merlyn.holmes@colorado.edu
Julie Poppen, CU-Boulder media relations (O) 303-492-4007 (M) 720-503-4922
julie.poppen@colorado.edu
