#  Samuel L. and Elizabeth Jodidi Lecture Series 

 



The Jodidi Lecture is among the most prominent lecture series of the Weatherhead Center and is one of the most distinguished at the University. Established in 1955, the lecture series provides for the “delivery of lectures by eminent and well-qualified persons…for the promotion of tolerance, understanding and good will among nations, and the peace of the world.”

Visit the [Weatherhead Center YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@HarvardWCFIA) to view videos from the Samuel L. and Elizabeth Jodidi Lecture Series and more. All Jodidi Lecture Series videos can be found in its [lecture series playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTcEVZEBVyEk0A5qTO8u-GTcamA5D7pJx).

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#  Past Lectures 

 

##  2026 February 11 

## The Mechanics of Public Man-Made Death: USAID’s Destruction At One Year

**Speaker:** Atul Gawande, John and Cyndy Fish Chair in Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Samuel O. Thier Professor of the Practice of Surgery, Harvard Medical School; writer, The New Yorker.



 



 

##  2024 October 24 

## Cope, Adapt, Thrive: Ensuring Our Shared Future on a Hot and Hostile Planet

**Speaker:** Tjada D’Oyen McKenna, CEO, Mercy Corps



 



 

##  2023 November 8 

## How Can Universities Address the Crisis in Democracy?

**Speaker:** Dame Louise Richardson, President, Carnegie Corporation of New York  
**Moderator:** Melani Cammett, Director of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs; Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs at Harvard University



 

### Related Links

- [Transcript of Jodidi Lecture delivered by Dame Louise Richardson and Melani Cammett](https://wcfia.harvard.edu/lectureships/jodidi/2023/transcript_LRichardson_MCammett)



 

##  2023 March 29 

## Helping Bend the Arc at the Hinges of History: A Conversation with Larry Brilliant

**Speaker:** Larry Brilliant, Epidemiologist, technologist, philanthropist, and author  
**Moderator:** Erez Manela, Acting Director of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs; professor of history at Harvard University



 

### Related Links

- [Transcript of Jodidi Lecture delivered by Larry Brilliant and Erez Manela](/lectureships/jodidi/2023/transcript_LBrilliant_EManela "Transcript: Jodidi Lecture | Bending the Arc at the Hinges of History with Dr. Larry Brilliant")
- [*Harvard Gazette*: "Speaking from Experience On What Makes a Global Killer"](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/03/doctor-who-helped-vanquish-smallpox-assesses-covid-response/)



 

##  2019 April 3 

## Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Nadia Murad in Conversation with Jennifer Leaning

**Speaker:** Nadia Murad, 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and founder of Nadia's Initiative  
**Moderator:** Jennifer Leaning, Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

*Cosponsored by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University*



 

### Related Links

- [Transcript of Jodidi Lecture delivered by Nadia Murad and Jennifer Leaning](/lectureships/jodidi/2019/transcript_NMurad_JLeaning "Transcript: Jodidi Lecture | A Conversation between Nadia Murad and Jennifer Leaning")
- [*Harvard Gazette*, "Nadia Murad: The Making of an Activist"](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/04/at-harvard-nobelist-nadia-murad-explains-the-making-of-an-activist-2/)
- [Nadia's Initiative](https://nadiasinitiative.org/)
- [Nadia Murad's book, *The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight against the Islamic State*](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/555106/the-last-girl-by-nadia-murad/9781524760441/)



 

##  2018 November 5 

## Democracy’s Crisis: On the Political Contradictions of Financialized Capitalism

**Speaker:** Nancy Fraser, Henry A. & Louise Loeb Professor of Political & Social Science at the New School for Social Research



 

### Related Links

- [Transcript excerpt of Jodidi Lecture delivered by Nancy Fraser](/publications/centerpiece/fall2018/transcript_jodidi11-5-2018 "Democracy’s Crisis: On the Political Contradictions of Financialized Capitalism")



 

##  2018 March 21 

## Insidious Threats to Academic Freedom in the US and Abroad

**Speakers:** Craig Calhoun, Advisory Committee; President, Berggruen Institute  
Michael Ignatieff, Advisory Committee; President, Central European University



 

### Related Links

- [Transcript of Jodidi Lecture delivered by Craig Calhoun and Michael Ignatieff](/jodidi/2018/transcript-ignatieff-and-calhoun "Transcript: Jodidi Lecture by Michael Ignatieff and Craig Calhoun")
- [*Harvard Gazette*, "The Pressures on Academic Freedom"](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/03/pressures-rising-on-academic-freedom-harvard-panelists-say/)



 

##  2015 November 12 

## The Cosmopolitan Ethic in a Fragmented World

**Speaker:** His Highness the Aga Khan

*Cosponsored by the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Islamic Studies Program*



 

### Related Links

- [Transcript of Introduction by Professor Ali Asani](/lectureships/jodidi/2015/transcript_intro_agakhan_aasani "Transcript: Introduction of His Highness the Aga Khan by Professor Ali Asani")
- [Transcript of Jodidi Lecture delivered by His Highness the Aga Khan](/jodidi/2015/transcript-aga-khan "Transcript: Jodidi Lecture by His Highness the Aga Khan")
- [Transcript of Conversation with Professor Diana L. Eck](/lectureships/jodidi/2015/transcript_AgaKhan-DEck "Transcript: A Conversation between His Highness the Aga Khan and Professor Diana L. Eck")
- [Photo Gallery | Fall 2015 Centerpiece: Jodidi Lecture](/galleries/cpfall2015-jodidi "Photo Gallery | Fall 2015 Centerpiece: Jodidi Lecture")

### In the Media

- [The Harvard Gazette, "A Call to Build on Differences"](http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/11/a-call-to-build-on-differences/)
- [The Huffington Post, "Aga Khan: We Can Achieve A More Cooperative World If We Understand Our Differences, Not Erase Them"](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/aga-khan-harvard-pluralism_564a38dde4b045bf3df05629?60hbmx6r)
- [The Huffington Post, "Aga Khan at Harvard: Islam and the Cosmopolitan Ethic in a Fragmented World"](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/samreen-hooda/aga-khan-at-harvard-islam_b_8583354.html?utm_hp_ref=religion%3Chttps://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.huffingtonpost.com_samreen-2Dhooda_aga-2Dkhan-2Dat-2Dharvard-2Dislam-5Fb-5F8583354.html-3Futm-5Fhp-5Fref-3Dreligion&d=CwMFaQ&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=HwssEb5Sv69w1dAF5JrOXrXvG9KN17TK7qP66DtxfR4&m=89lxah5oxTJ0Fu22TjVkyTZvrWXTQAa15bT-RC0AZvg&s=pI2Kpx07g3Zva6wvVy6_Xdm7J3NFeb2TXBYg_HcsUjw&e=)
- [Cambridge Chronicle, "Muslim Leader Calls for Embracing Diversity at Harvard Speech"](http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/article/20151118/NEWS/151115784/11669/NEWS)
- [Harvard Magazine, "The Harvard Remarks of the Aga Khan"](http://harvardmagazine.com/2015/12/aga-khan-at-harvard)



 

##  2013 November 12 

## Israel and Palestine: From Iconic Conflict to Iconic Solution or, Is It Time for New Paradigms?

**Speaker:** Avraham Burg, *Israeli* *Author, Political Leader, and Activist; Former Speaker of the Knesset; Chairman, Jewish Agency for Israel*.



 



 

##  2011 October 3 

## Islam and Peace-Building in West Africa

**Speaker:** Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, Sultan of Sokoto, Nigeria



 

### Related Links

- ["Exploring Islam in Nigeria: Panel discussion precedes visit by Sultan of Sokoto,"](http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/09/exploring-islam-in-nigeria/) *Harvard Gazette* article.



 

##  2010 November 18 

## Individual Rights—Universal Peace

**Speaker:** Thorbjørn Jagland, Chairman, Norwegian Nobel Committee; Secretary General, European Council



 

### Related Links

- ["The Harvard Foundation Honors Jagland,"](http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/11/harvard-foundation-honors-jagland/) *Harvard Gazette* article.



 

## 2008

“The Future of Peacekeeping”  
Jean-Marie Guéhenno  
*United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations*  
*(Delivered at the Center's annual conference in Talloires, France.)*

## 2008

“Ireland and the EU: Promoting Peace and Prosperity at Home and Abroad”  
Bertie Ahern  
*Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland*  
[Transcript (HTML)](/lectureships/jodidi/2008/transcript_ahern "Transcript: Jodidi Lecture by Bertie Ahern")

## 2005

“Zambia & Africa in the 21st Century”  
Levy Mwanawasa  
*President of the Republic of Zambia*

## 2004

“The Geneva Initiative: A Realistic Utopia Creating a Window of Opportunity in a Wall of  
Separation”  
Amram Mitzna  
*Member of the Israeli Knesset and Labor Party candidate for Israeli Prime Minister*

## 2003

“Facing the Challenges of Development in Peru”  
Beatriz Merino  
*President of the Council of Ministers of Peru*

## 2002

“International Terrorism: What International Criminal Law Can Do”  
Richard J. Goldstone  
*Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa*

## 1994

“India’s Approach to Economic Policy Reform”  
P.V. Narasimha Rao  
*Prime Minister of India*

## 1987

“Democracy in India”  
Rajiv Gandhi  
*Prime Minister of India*

## 1986

“The Role of Non-violent Action in National Security”  
Corazón Aquino  
*President of the Philippines*

## 1986

“The Prospects for Peace in the Middle East”  
Abba Eban  
*Former Israeli Foreign Minister*

## 1985

“The United Nations’ Potential in Shaping Tomorrow’s World”  
Javier Pérez de Cuellar  
*United Nations Secretary-General*

## 1983

“Third World Debt and Global Recovery”  
A.W. Clausen  
*Former Head, World Bank*

## 1981

“Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey”  
V.S. Naipaul  
*Novelist; 2001 Nobel Prize in Literature*

## 1980

“Equity and Security: The Challenges to American Foreign Policy”  
Zbigniew Brzezinski  
*US National Security Advisor*

## 1980

“The Revolutions in Southeast Asia”  
Prince Norodom Sihanouk  
*Former Chief of State, Cambodia*

## 1978

René Levesque  
*Premier, Québec*

## 1973

“Has the Atlantic Alliance a Future?”  
Raymond Aron  
*Professor of Sociology of Modern Civilization, Collège de France*

## 1968

Lee Kuan Yew  
*Prime Minister of Singapore*

## 1968

Andreas Papandreou  
*Minister, First Ministry of State, Greece*

## 1964

“Democracy in Germany”  
Fritz Erler  
*Leader, Social Democratic Party, Germany*

## 1958

Geoffrey Barraclough  
*Stevenson Research Professor, University of London*



 

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