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Arts & Sciences
director of the series, says about the anticipation
surrounding the 10 speakers who have accepted invitations to date.
“The old certainties in the humanities no longer exist and no new
paradigms or set of answers have emerged,” Gumbrecht adds. “So I think
the experiment we are launching with the lecture and symposia series is
very important. The humanities can win big but they can also lose big,
and the fact that it is an experiment makes it very exciting.”
 Oh, the
things that could happen when “wrap” artist Christo and his partner,
Jeanne-Claude, visit campus March 2.
Organizers hope the visits will spark discussions that will influence
the shape of the humanities at the university and explore new and
unpredictable directions of study. The Stanford Daily suggested
that “perhaps Christo will do a project on campus or the architect
Eisenman will inspire a new building in his style.”
David Holloway, associate dean for the humanities, says that “after the
intense debates about multiculturism, I think there’s a sense that there
is a new kind of thinking about the humanities and how they should
develop. We’ve come out of a stringent period, as well, into one that
seems to provide more economic opportunities.”
Holloway, the Raymond A. Spruance Professor in International History and
a specialist in international security and Soviet nuclear policy, says
“the humanities have to do with the kind of society we live in, and a society
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