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 Coleen Murphy, Professor of Molecular Biology; Gáspár Bakos, Professor of Astrophysical Sciences; Leah Boustan, Professor of Economics; Keith Whittington, Professor of Politics; Alan Blinder, Professor of Economics; and Gene Jarrett, Professor of English and Dean of the Faculty.