Mathers Theatre, 7 p.m.

No livestream, however, the program will be recorded for future viewing.

The Archive

Neta Pulvermacher, Israeli/American Choreographer, Dancer, Director and a Professor of Dance at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (JAMD)

The Archive
Created and Performed by Neta Pulvermacher

“They are not here,
And they are not coming
There is nothing here…
There is nothing here for you
It’s just this room and you and me.
And they are not here…
Go home, go home…
There’s no sense in waiting”

When the last person who remembers is gone, whole worlds disappear forever. Israeli/American artist, choreographer and performer Neta Pulvermacher, situates her riveting one woman show, The Archive, inside this perforated post-memory landscape. Exploring her German-Jewish family history, she constructs a jarring, witty and deeply moving performative journey that follows the traces to Frankfurt and Berlin – once her family’s home.

Inside a room containing a table, three chairs, a reading lamp, and an old violin, Pulvermacher sifts through documents, photographs, and personal artifacts. She dances, sings, and tells stories, conjuring fragmented narratives, voices, and characters that connect briefly only to fade away into oblivion. In her “Archive,” she asks us to consider the Read more

Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

A book signing will follow the presentation

The Power of Language: How Knowing More Than One Language Transforms the Mind and Society

Viorica Marian, Sundin Endowed Professor of Communication and Psychology at Northwestern University

Bilingualism and multilingualism are the norm rather than the exception in the world. Yet historically, scientific research has focused disproportionately on monolingual speakers as the standard. For an accurate understanding of the mind, we must recognize the brain’s ability to accommodate multiple symbolic systems simultaneously as the signal, rather than the noise, in human experience.

In this talk, I will present evidence that bilingualism reshapes cognitive architecture. My research integrates behavioral, neuroimaging, cognitive, and computational methods to capture the continuous parallel activation and interaction of multiple languages in the brain and their consequences for cognitive function, from perceptual processes to higher-order thinking. Behavioral methods such as eye-tracking and mouse-tracking reveal that bilinguals’ eye movements drift toward objects whose names overlap across languages, and that hand movements and decision-making veer toward alternatives activated by another language. Neuroimaging shows that managing multiple languages is like a workout for the brain and reshapes neural connections, leading to measurable structural and functional adaptations.

The Read more

Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium

Muslim France and the Contradictions of Laïcité: A History of the Present

Mayanthi Fernando, University of California Santa Cruz

In 1989 three Muslim schoolgirls from a Paris suburb refused to remove their Islamic headscarves in class, igniting a debate – still raging more than 30 years later – about the place of Muslims in the French Republic and within its governing framework of laïcité (secularism). The dominant narrative about laïcité, both in France and in the US media, is that in 1905, France separated church and state, and religion was restricted to the private sphere. Public Muslimness is therefore seen as contravening this longstanding arrangement of what it means to be French.

Mayanthi Fernando will complicate that narrative to offer a different history of the present. First, she will show how laïcité has entailed not the separation of religion from politics and the public sphere but rather the French state’s intervention into religious life, including defining what counts as religion, belief, practice, symbol, and so on, using a Christian framework to make those distinctions. Fernando will then delve more deeply into the headscarf drama. The language of the 2004 law banning “conspicuous religious signs” classifies Read more

Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium – 7 p.m.

This event is in-person only. It will not be livestreamed nor recorded for future viewing. 

The Geopolitical Consequences of the Iran War

A Dickinson College Faculty Panel Discussion

Russell Bova – Political Science & International Studies
David Commins – History & Middle East Studies
Mireille Rebeiz  – Middle East Studies, French & Francophone Studies and Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies

On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury, marking a significant escalation in their conflict with Iran and intensifying instability across the Middle East. Since then, the Strait of Hormuz has emerged as a central site of geopolitical contention and a critical factor in negotiations. As one of the world’s most vital energy corridors, disruptions to this waterway reverberate through global markets and supply chains, raising urgent questions about the role of energy security in shaping contemporary international relations.

At the same time, the conflict has generated profound humanitarian and public health concerns. Attacks on critical infrastructure, including desalination facilities, alongside disruptions to fertilizer and food systems, have heightened the risks of water scarcity and food insecurity across the region and beyond. As the conflict evolves, it has Read more

Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

The Canary in the Coal Mine: The 1951 Refugee Convention and the Collapse of the Post WW II International Order

Seyla Benhabib is the Eugene Meyer Professor of Political Science and Philosophy at Yale University Emerita and Senior Research Fellow at Columbia Law School and the Center for Contemporary Critical Thought

The 1951 Refugee Convention is one of the most important human rights documents of the post-WW II period. Like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (on which it is based) and the Genocide Convention, both of 1948, it embodied the hopes and aspirations of a new world order. Never again would those persecuted on account of their race, religion, ethnicity, political beliefs, and social group fail to find protection and refuge in countries other than those in which such persecution occurred.

The 1951 Convention, however, from the beginning was beset with some difficulties: first, it originally excluded countries of the Global South, whether by omission or by design. To this day, India is not a signatory of the Convention because the India-Pakistan War could find no place within its framework. Likewise, the categories of “protected groups,” named in the Convention, were based Read more

Althouse Hall, Room 106 – 4:00 p.m.

Film Screening of Tulsa:  The Fire and the Forgotten

A Centennial Exploration of the 1921 Race Massacre

“A landmark PBS documentary, Tulsa: The Fire and the Forgotten examines the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre on the 100th anniversary of the crime. The film includes interviews with descendants of the victims and probes how their families’ devastating experience affects their lives in today’s America, and also documents the current excavation of potential mass graves from the massacre. Through the historical lens of white violence and Black resistance, this project explores issues of atonement, reconciliation, and reparation in the past, present and future.” – (Description taken from the DVD Cover)

The film screening will provide historical context for this week’s program with Forensic Anthropologist Phoebe Stubblefield titled, Finding Unity in History: Our Community Process Recovering Victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. This program is scheduled for Wednesday, March 25 at 7 p.m. in ATS.

This film screening is being presented by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues. Read more

Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

Bruce R. Andrews Lecture

Combating Online Harms: The Importance of Rigorous Scientific Testing of Proposed Interventions

Joshua A. Tucker is Director of the Jordan Center for Advanced Study of Russia, Co-Director of the Center for Social Media and Politics, and Professor of Politics at New York University

In the digital information era, policymakers and technology companies have implemented numerous interventions designed to mitigate online harms, ranging from misinformation to political polarization. However, Professor Joshua A. Tucker argues that we cannot rely on the assumption that these “common sense” solutions are effective; instead, they must be subjected to rigorous scientific testing. Drawing on extensive research from NYU’s Center for Social Media and Politics (csmapnyu.org), Tucker will present findings from three major studies that challenge conventional wisdom. First, he will demonstrate how the popular advice to “do your own research” via search engines can paradoxically increase belief in misinformation due to low-quality search results. Second, he will discuss the limitations of source credibility labels, which appear to have little impact on downstream news consumption or trust in media. Finally, he will review the results of the U.S. 2020 Facebook & Instagram Election Study, Read more

Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 5 p.m.

Film Screening of award-winning Adiós Cuba, subtitles in English

Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

A​​cclaimed Cuban filmmaker, Rolando Diaz, will discuss the making of the film with Dickinson Professor Margaret G. Frohlich of Spanish and Portuguese Studies with Q & A to follow.

These programs are sponsored by The Griffith Fund, The Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues, Spanish and Portuguese Studies, Film and Media Studies, Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies, Theater and Dance, Political Science, and The Center for Spirituality and Social Justice.

  Read more

Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.

This program was in-person and livestream only. No recording is available for viewing.

Black History Month Conversation

The Psychology of Belonging: Navigating Identity on a College Campus

Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, President Emerita of Spelman College, Best-Selling Author and Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum—esteemed psychologist, scholar, and former president of Spelman College—joins Dickinson College for a moderated conversation inspired by her New York Times-bestselling book, “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” And Other Conversations about Race. This dialogue will explore the psychological foundations of racial identity development and the ways in which students seek affirmation, belonging, and safety in community. Tatum will share insights into how identity formation shapes the student experience and why supportive environments are essential for student success.

As part of our Black History Month observance, this event offers a rare opportunity to engage directly with one of the nation’s leading voices in higher education. Together, we will reflect on what it means to build inclusive living and learning communities, a shared commitment that calls for both personal awareness and collective action.

Moderated by Dr. Jacquie Forbes, assistant professor of educational studies, Read more