2025 Spring Events

  1. GHI Forum Series

Join our online 2025 GHI Forum Series to hear about GHI’s research and action plan for each pillar from our pillar coordinators, explore common passions and interests, and discuss how you can join our efforts and particular projects.

We convene each month on a mid-month Thursday or Friday from 10 am to 11:30 AM EST.

1st GHI Forum

  • Title: Cognition, Learning & Human Flourishing
  • Date: February 21, 8:00–9:30 AM EST
  • Speakers: Jonas Mago, Justus Wachs

2nd GHI Forum

  • Title: The Good Life: Religions, Philosophies & Sciences
  • Date: April 11, 10:00–11:30 AM EST
  • Speakers: Rafal K. Stepien, Simran Jeet Singh, Andreas Ohlemacher, Wiebke Denecke

3rd GHI Forum

  • Title: Public Literacies: Civic Systems, Media & Emotional Intelligence
  • Date: May 9, 10:00–11:30 AM EST
  • Speakers: Richard Eberhardt, Gabor Hollbeck, Mikael Jakobsson

4th GHI Forum

  • Title: Good Governance in Bad Times
  • Date: June 6, 10:00–11:30 AM EST
  • Speakers: Wiebke Denecke, Johannes Makar, Michael Puett

2. Roundtable

Humanisms & Renaissances across World History–a Timely & Casual Conversation

  • Time: March 21, 4:00-5:30 pm
  • Location: MIT Hayden Library, Nexus Space 14S-130

A Roundtable with

Laura Ashe (English Literature, Oxford University)
Jason Chen (MIT’25, Mechanical Engineering & Literature)
Wiebke Denecke (East Asian Literatures and Thought, MIT)
Johannes Makar (Arabic Thought, Harvard University)
Ugo Mondini (Byzantine and Greek Studies, Oxford University)
Václav Zheng (History of East-Central Europe, Johns Hopkins University)


3. GHI Comparative Global Dialogues

Join GHI members of our Area Expert hub, as they join GHI project leaders in comparatively exploring a particular research topic across millennia of human experience on our planet. Our Dialogues series will be kicked off in May.


4. Launch events

  • Launching the “Legacies for Our Future” Challenge: Celebrate the Planet with Mike Block, [TBC], and Korean Folk Painting Experience
    • With Kim Jae-Hui, the Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Boston
    • Chung Byungmo, Director of the School of Minhwa (Korean Folk Painting)
    • Kwak Yunmi, Minhwa Artist
      • Time: May 14 2025, 5:00-7:00 PM
      • Location: Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building @ MIT
      • Organizer: MIT Comparative Global Humanities Initiative (GHI)
  • CELEBRATE: Launch of the Asian Hub of  MIT’s Global Humanities Initiative at Korea University
    • Location: Korea University, Seoul
    • Date: April 24-25, 2025

5. 4th Annual Conference of the MIT Comparative Global Humanities Initiative.

  • Title: “Creating Desirable Legacies for Our Future in an Age of STEM & Big Tech”
  • Location: Korea University, Seoul
  • Date: November 20-21, 2025