Is there value in invoking “the commons” as a concept or practice? In our present historical moment, questions about what is shared and who belongs converge around a set of ongoing crises: technologies that utilize and control ideas, data and genetic material; ecological destruction and the management of land and resources; conflicts over the spaces and voices that constitute political participation. Can “the commons”—with its multiple histories and applications in fields as diverse as astrophysical sciences, music, religion, archaeology and sociology—serve as an effective definition or critical term or perhaps even as an ideal today?

This year we look forward to inspiring talks by Basile Baudez, Asst. Professor of Art & Archaeology; Shamus Khan, Professor of Sociology and American Studies; Brandon Stewart, Asst. Professor of Sociology; David MacMillan, Professor of Chemistry; Marna Seltzer, Director, Princeton Concerts, Gáspár Bakos, Professor of Astrophysical Sciences; Laura Edwards, Professor of History; Fredrick Wherry, Professor of Sociology; Sarah Rivett, Professor of English and American Studies; and Coleen Murphy, Professor of Molecular Biology.