Kaplan Conversations
Ninety minutes of interdisciplinary discussion of research by Kaplan Institute associates.
Kaplan Conversations are held on Wednesdays, 12 noon - 1:30 pm CST. If you are interested in attending a Kaplan Conversation lunch seminar, please email leon.hedstrom@northwestern.edu.
2026-2027 Kaplan Conversations
Fall 2026
October 7 - Welcome KC
October 21 – Faculty Fellow
Zekeria Ahmed Salem (Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and Program of African Studies)
Islamic Knowledge Unbound: The Islamic Republic of Mauritania and the Making of Transnational Religious Authority (19th-21st Century)
November 4 – Faculty Fellow
Thadeus Dowad (Crown Junior Chair in Middle East Studies and Assistant Professor, Department of Art History)
The Draftsmen's Empire: Art and the French Occupation of Egypt
November 11 – Library Fellow
Jamie Carlstone (Authority Metadata Librarian, Northwestern University Libraries)
Unconventional Bookwomen
Winter 2027
January 13 - Faculty FellowMichaela Kleber (Assistant Professor, Department of History)
The Real Housewives of French Louisiana
January 27 - Faculty Fellow
Diego Arispe-Bazán (Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology)
Colonial Nationalisms in the Postcolony: Spaniards and Mestizos in Middle-Class Lima
February 17 - Faculty Fellow
Kevin Buckelew (Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies)
Karma, Commerce, and Conscience: Layman Pang and Moral Responsibility in Vernacular Chinese Buddhism
March 3 – Faculty Fellow
Alfonso Fierro (Assistant Professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese)
Utopian Habitations: Past Urban Futures in Mexican Literature and Architecture
Spring 2027
April 7 – Faculty FellowAudrey Silvestre (Assistant Professor, Program in Latina and Latino Studies)
Disobedient Frequencies: Queer Latine Punk in Los Angeles
April 21 - Faculty Fellow
Leslie Harris (Professor, Departments of History and Black Studies)
Leaving New Orleans: A Personal Urban History
Presentation of Franke Fellows' research; event is 9:00am to 4:30pm
Previous Years
Click here to view past Kaplan Conversations.