Just Theory Lecture Series
The "Just Theory" Lecture Series is an annual program hosted by the Department of Comparative Literature. Each year we welcome leading voices in literary criticism and philosophy to share their latest research. These events are free and open to the public, drawing students, faculty, and scholars from across the UB community and beyond.
Spring 2026
March 5
“Faux Subject, Authentic Habitus. The Changing Fate of the Class Impostor in Contemporary Culture”
Olga Szmidt, Jagiellonian University
Sponsored by Polish Studies Initiative
5:00pm in Clemens 708
March 31-April 2
Donato Seminar: '‘As the world goes…’: ‘Might makes right’ from Homer, Thucydides, and Plato to Freud, Weil, and Derrida
Michael Naas, Depaul University
Sessions:
- Tuesday, 31 March: “The Reason of the Strongest”
- Wednesday, 1 April: “Of Beasts and Bullies: The Claim to Natural Justice”
- Thursday, 2 April: “And the Force of Justice? From the Melian Dialogue to the Donroe Doctrine”
12:30pm Clemens 708 - each session
April 9
“The Drives of Deconstruction”
Isabelle Alfandary, Université de Paris III
5:00pm Clemens 708
April 23
“A(n) (Im)possible Comradeship? Central Europe, South Africa, and the Limits of Transcolonial Ecumene.”
Robert Kusek, Jagiellonian University
5:00pm Clemens 708
April 29 - May 1
Seminar Commemorating the 5TH Anniversary of Jean-Luc Nancy’s Death: “Jean-Luc Nancy and the Soul of Philosophy”
Juan Manuel Garrido, Universidad Alberto Hurtado
Aïcha Liviana Messina, Universidad Diego Portales
Sessions:
- Wednesday, 29 April: “Body and Soul”
- Thursday, 30 April: “Life After Transplantation”
- Friday, 1 May: “Sickness and World”
Fall 2025
September 18
Lecture: “We Have Always Been Action Theorists: Toward an Interdisciplinary Theory of Language for the Age of Generative AI"
708 Clemens Hall | 4 p.m.
Lauren Goodlad, Rutgers University
September 19
Workshop: “Teaching Critical AI Literacies”
708 Clemens Hall | 3 p.m.
Lauren Goodlad, Rutgers University
October 3
Book Seminar: On Kalliopi Nikolopoulou’s “Hunting for Justice: The Cosmology of Dike”
708 Clemens Hall | 4 p.m.
Jason Winfree, California State University at Stanislaus
Marina McCoy, Boston College
October 27
Trans Studies Symposium: "Trans Ethics, Affirmation, and Care"
708 Clemens Hall | 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
October 30
Lecture: "Memories of Violence: Argentina, Chile, Guatemala"
708 Clemens Hall | 5 p.m.
Enrique Díaz Alvarez, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Milena Grass, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
November 6
Event Postponed Jorge Gracia Seminar: “The Captive Maternal: Anti-Fascists in Search of the Beloved”
Joy James, Williams College
November 7
Event Postponed Jorge Gracia Seminar: “Confronting Counterinsurgencies: Cop Cities and Democracy's Terrors”
Joy James, Williams College
