UNE Center for Global Humanities hosts 'New York Times' best-selling author

James Doty
James Doty

The University of New England Center for Global Humanities will launch its Fall 2016 lecture series when New York Times best-selling author James Doty, M.D., presents "The Power of Compassion to Save Lives." Doty will explore, through his own life story and the latest research on the science of compassion, how each of us can profoundly change our own lives and the lives of others.

The lecture will take place Friday, September 23 at 6 p.m. at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center in Westbrook, Maine. It will be preceded by a free public reception at 5 p.m. at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center cafeteria. 

The lecture kicks off the UNE Center for Global Humanities’ eighth academic year. This fall also represents the popular series’ most robust lineup of speakers yet, as seven leading scholars will visit UNE’s Portland Campus between now and early December. Due to the anticipation of a large crowd, Doty’s lecture was moved off-campus to the 1,000-seat venue in Westbrook.     

A renowned neurosurgeon, who serves as a professor in the Neurosurgery Department at the Stanford University School of Medicine and as founding director of the Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, Doty focuses his research on understanding the neural basis of compassion and altruism. His 2016 book Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart has been translated into 21 languages. 

Since its founding in 2009 by prominent UNE cultural studies scholar Anouar Majid, the UNE Center for Global Humanities has brought to UNE leading thinkers from around the globe to share their expertise with students and a diverse audience of community members. Past speakers have included international luminaries like Noam Chomsky, Neal Barnard and Bill McKibben.

The Center for Global Humanities lecture series introduces attendees to exploration of some of the most pressing issues facing humanity today. In addition to serving members of the Portland community, the lectures are streamed live online so that students at UNE’s campus in Tangier, Morocco, and people around the world can view them. The lectures are also archived on UNE’s website. For more information, visit www.une.edu/cgh.

 

To apply, visit www.une.edu/admissions