A Conversation with David Brooks

Date: Monday, Sep 28, 2026

Join VCU's College of Humanities and Sciences Baldacci Institute and the Library of Virginia for an evening with author and political commentator David Brooks.

2026 Levis Reading Prize

Date: Thursday, Oct 29, 2026

Matthew Tuckner, the 2026 Levis Reading Prize winner, will read from his poetry collection The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

2026 Cabell First Novelist Award

Date: Thursday, Nov 12, 2026

Olufunke Grace Bankole has won the 2026 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, which honors an outstanding debut novel published during the preceding calendar year.

VCU Visiting Writers Series: Carvell Wallace

Date: Tuesday, Feb 16, 2027

The VCU Visiting Writers Series hosts a reading by acclaimed author Carvell Wallace . . .

The Blake Lecture in the History of Christianity

Date: Thursday, Apr 1, 2027

Save the date of April 1, 2027 for the annual Blake Lecture in the History of Christianity featuring Shaily Patel, Ph.D., an assistant professor of early Christianity in the Department of Religion and Culture at Virginia Tech.

Virginia at 250: Leadership, Democracy and the Future of the Commonwealth

Date: Tuesday, Sep 1, 2026

As the nation marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs and the College of Humanities and Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University will convene a timely conversation about Virginia’s enduring influence on America.

Ned Blackhawk Lecture

Date: Friday, Oct 30, 2026

Join us for an event with Ned Blackhawk, Howard R. Lamar Professor of History at Yale University and author of The Rediscovery of America.

Racial Reconciliation and the Third Reconstruction A New Racial Justice Model

Date: Monday, Sep 14, 2026

Join the HRC for a Meet VCU Authors event with Rachel Gómez, Assistant Professor of Foundations of Education in the School of Education at VCU, and Julio Cammarota, Professor of Education at the University of Arizona, co-authors of Racial Reconciliation and the Third Reconstruction: A New Racial Justice Model.

Fear of Queer Taiwan: Anti-LGBTQ Movements between Taiwan and the U.S. Religious Right

Date: Monday, Oct 5, 2026

Join us for a Meet VCU Authors event with Ying-Chao Kao, Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director of Sociology at VCU, and author of Fear of Queer Taiwan: Anti-LGBTQ Movements between Taiwan and the U.S. Religious Right.

Larry Levis Tribute Event

Date: Wednesday, Oct 28, 2026

Nine poets each read a single Levis poem and offer brief remarks, together forming a portrait assembled in many voices.

UVA/VCU Joint Graduate Poetry Reading

Date: Friday, Oct 30, 2026

Graduate poets from the University of Virginia and VCU read new work written in Levis's wake.

“A Late Style of Fire” & Q&A with the filmmaker

Date: Friday, Oct 30, 2026

A screening of Michele Poulos's 2016 documentary “A Late Style of Fire: Larry Levis, American Poet,” with an original score by Iron & Wine, followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker.

Society of the Cincinnati Lecture featuring Kathleen DuVal, Ph.D.

Date: Tuesday, Oct 6, 2026

Join us October 6 for a talk about Native Nations and the American Revolution by Pulitzer Prize winning author and historian Kathleen DuVal, Ph.D., of UNC Chapel Hill.

Oy vey, King George!: Judaism and the War for Independence

Date: Monday, Nov 9, 2026

In his visit to the VCU campus, Adam Jortner will talk about the main points he writes about in his book, "A Promised Land: Jewish Patriots, the American Revolution, and the Birth of Religious Freedom."

Democracy's Newest Test: AI in Historical Perspective

Date: Monday, Oct 5, 2026

Is AI just the next disruptor in a long line of world-changing technologies, or is it something genuinely new? Dr. Jason Ross Arnold, professor and chair of the Department of Political Science, tackles the question.

Black Out Loud: A Conversation with Geoff Bennett

Date: Friday, Oct 9, 2026

Join us for a conversation with Geoff Bennett, co-anchor and co-managing editor of the PBS NewsHour. Bennett will discuss his book "Black Out Loud: The Revolutionary History of Black Comedy from Vaudeville to '90s Sitcoms."

Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War

Date: Tuesday, Oct 13, 2026

In partnership with the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, the College of Humanities and Sciences presents a screening of the documentary “Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War” from VPM and director Stacey L. Holman.

Violence and the Impossibility of Repair

Date: Monday, Oct 26, 2026

Join the Humanities Research Center for an event in our Repair Speaker Series, featuring Dr. Laura Terrance, a Mohawk scholar, to discuss Indigenous sovereignty, Indigenous vengeance, and the productive potentials of anti-colonial violence.

Reform and Repair: Removing Blood Quantum from Tribal Citizenship Requirements

Date: Monday, Nov 2, 2026

Join the Humanities Research Center for an event in our Repair Speaker Series, featuring Dr. Jill Doerfler (Anishinaabe), Professor and Department Head of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Inherited Hands, New Forms: Tradition and Modernity in Indigenous Art

Date: Monday, Oct 12, 2026

Join the HRC for an event with Erick Krigsvold, Pamunkey artist and former Karenne Wood Artist in Residence.

Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival 2026

Dates: Wednesday, Nov 18, 2026 – Sunday, Nov 22, 2026

The Humanities Research Center is proud to be part of the VCU team providing leadership support to Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

KEMBA Film Screening & Q&A

Date: Wednesday, Oct 21, 2026

The Department of African American Studies will host a viewing and discussion of the film KEMBA. This film details the true story of Kemba Pradia Smith, sentenced to 24 years in prison for crimes committed by her boyfriend. This screening is co-sponsored by the organization Represent Justice; the Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies; the Black Education Association; and the Wilder School.

What's at Stake? A Preview of the Midterm Elections

Date: Wednesday, Oct 28, 2026

As the country prepares for the congressional midterm elections on Nov. 3, please join our panel of faculty from the Department of Political Science to discuss the major topics of the elections and the future control of the US House of Representatives and the US Senate.

What Happened? An Analysis of the Results in the Midterm Elections

Date: Thursday, Nov 5, 2026

Two days after the congressional midterm elections on Nov. 3, our panel of faculty from the Department of Political Science will discuss the outcomes of the elections, the control in the US House of Representatives and the US Senate, and the impact on the future of the country.

Rice Rivers Center Open House

Date: Sunday, Oct 4, 2026

Come out for a free, family-friendly afternoon by the water. Discover how VCU monitors river health, protects local ecosystems, and leads vital conservation efforts along the James River.

Witch Studies Symposium

Date: Thursday, Oct 22, 2026

Learn about the emerging field of Witch Studies.

Presentation of the Latino Virginia Oral History Archive

Date: Friday, Oct 30, 2026

Celebrate the launch of the Latino Virginia Oral History Archive, a bilingual digital collection documenting the experiences of Latino communities across the Commonwealth.

The Future of the Middle East

Date: Tuesday, Nov 10, 2026

Join the International Studies Program for a panelist discussion on the current situation and possibilities for the future of the Middle East.

Songs of American Democracy: The Protest Music of Social Movements in the United States

Date: Thursday, Dec 3, 2026

Join the College of Humanities and Sciences for a special lecture from Eric Slater about the protest music that played alongside the major social movements from the 1960s to today.