Back to the Future

Event
March 22, 2023 - March 22, 2023
5pm
Sidney Center (previously known as the Harman Academy); Doheny Memorial Library, room 241

Much of our present technological and socio-cultural progress was imagined in Sci-Fi art, film, and literatures in the past. What are we imagining now that might illuminate our future? 

Henry Jenkins, Cinematic Arts 

Sharon Lloyd, Philosophy 

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    Henry Jenkins

    Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism, Cinematic Arts and Education Primary Investigator, Civic Paths Research Group

    Henry Jenkins is the author or editor of 20 books on various aspects of media and popular culture. Among his best known works are Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, Spreadable Media: Creating Meaning and Value in a Networked Culture, By Any Media Necessary: The New Youth Activists, Popular Culture and the Civic Imagination: Case Studies of Creative Social Change and Comics and Stuff.

    Jenkins came to USC after 20 years as a faculty member at MIT, where he created and co-chaired the comparative media studies master’s program and launched an innovative agenda of public-facing scholarship concerning new media literacies, educational and innovative gaming, convergence culture and civic media.

    He has a long-standing commitment to increase public access and awareness of communication, media studies, and cultural studies research. In the service of that mission, Jenkins co-hosts the podcast How Do You Like It So Far? with ASCJ faculty member Colin Maclay and has run his widely read blog, Confessions of an Acafan, for more than 15 years.

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    Sharon Lloyd

    Professor of Philosophy and Law

    Professor of Philosophy, Law, and Political Science Sharon Lloyd works in the history of political philosophy, with special attention to the moral and political theory of philosopher Thomas Hobbes. Trained and mentored by John Rawls, one of the most influential political philosophers of the 20th century, Lloyd's scholarly interests in political philosophy and its history, contemporary liberalism and liberal feminist philosophy reflect that tutelage. She has particular interest in the moral and political theories of Machiavelli, Mill, Hobbes, Marx, and Rawls. Lloyd's work in philosophy has attracted the interest of legal scholars and is often published in law reviews. Lloyd is regarded as an important voice in the current generation of liberal feminists. Lloyd enjoys teaching in USC's honors program and general education on such topics as self-identity and moral responsibility, political obligation, and social ethics for earthlings and others through science fiction.