Annual Lectures and Symposia

Departments and centers in the College of Arts and Sciences offer a variety of lectures, seminars and colloquia. Here are some that are held on a regular basis:

The Carter Series

The Carter Series presents lectures focused on outstanding research on women, including the annual Faculty Research Award Lecture, funded by the Mae and Robert Carter Endowment in Women's Studies and presented by the University of Delaware's Department of Women & Gender Studies.

International Darwin Day

Charles Darwin was born on 12 February 1809. The University of Delaware will join event organizers from around the world to virtually celebrate Darwin’s contributions to humanity, science and rational thought with talks by scientists and scholars on a variety of related topics

Emerging Scholars Symposia

The Center for Material Culture Studies sponsors regular symposia and colloquia on topics related to material culture. The Emerging Scholars Symposia cover a different theme each year, bringing in some of the best young scholars from around the world.

Ida B. Wells Lecture

The annual Ida B. Well lecture is an initiative launched by the Department of Women and Gender Studies to bring the campus community together in dialogue about race and injustice. The series is supported by a grant from the Mellon Foundation’s Affirming Multivocal Humanities program and by the College of Arts and Sciences.

James E. Newton Symposium

The James E. Newton Symposium builds on Newton’s legacy of activism and people-centered scholarship to explore new directions, questions, and methodologies that define the field of Africana Studies in our evolving historical, social, cultural, political and environmental realities.

James R. Soles Lecture on the Constitution and Citizenship

The annual James R. Soles Lecture on the Constitution and Citizenship honors the late Professor Soles, a political science faculty member for more than 34 years. The lecture also commemorates the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787, and is generally held on or near that anniversary date.

Linguistics Colloquium

The Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science offers the Linguistics Colloquium each semester, bringing national scholars to campus to present their latest research on language.

Paul R. Jones Annual Lecture

The Paul R. Jones Annual Lecture is a university-wide event dedicated to arts practitioners and scholars. The named lecture honors art collector Paul R. Jones (1928-2010) and his gift of African American art to the University of Delaware. The Annual Lecture underscores the significance of Black arts to humanistic studies and showcases individuals whose contributions to the field are exemplary, interdisciplinary, and inspiring. Learn more about the Paul R. Jones Initiative.

National Agenda and Global Agenda

National Agenda is a national affairs speaker series, held each fall semester, and supported by the departments of Communication and of Political Science and International Relations and the Center for Political Communication. Global Agenda is an annual international affairs speaker series, supported by the departments of Political Science and International Relations and of Communication and the Institute for Global Studies.

Nobel Symposium

Hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences, this annual talk gives an opportunity to learn more about the prizes and their winners from faculty who conduct research in fields similar to the new laureates. 

Norton Lectures

The Department of Philosophy hosts the David Norton Memorial Lectures, in honor of the late philosophy professor. The lectures present contemporary work by leading scholars and are accessible to the general University community.