The Annual Humanities Horizons Lecture was established by the Trinity Long Room Hub in 2013 to provide a significant contribution to reflection on and advocacy for the Arts and Humanities. Previous speakers have included Professor Lyndsey Stonebridge, Professor Homi K. Bhabha and Professor Anthea Butler.
This year's lecture will take a different format with Secretary Bunch engaging in a 'fireside chat' with Jane Ohlmeyer, Erasmus Smith’s Professor of Modern History at Trinity’s Department of History. The discussion will focus on his leadership in making the African-American museum a reality and on decolonising museums more broadly.
“Grappling with our full histories, no matter how complicated or difficult, is one of the most important ways nations and peoples around the world can ensure a brighter future,” said Lonnie Bunch, Secretary of the Smithsonian. “I look forward to discussing with Professor Ohlmeyer the vital roles institutions like the Smithsonian and Trinity College Dublin play in honestly examining our past to better understand each other and find common ground through our shared humanity.”
Lonnie G. Bunch III is the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian. He assumed his position June 2019. As Secretary he oversees 21 museums, 21 libraries, the National Zoo, numerous research centres and several education units and centres. Two new museums—the National Museum of the American Latino and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum—are in development.
Previously, Bunch was the founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. When he started as director in July 2005, he had one staff member, no collections, no funding and no site for a museum. Driven by optimism, determination and a commitment to build “a place that would make America better,” Bunch transformed a bold vision into reality. The museum has welcomed more than 8 million visitors since it opened in September 2016 and has compiled a collection of 40,000 objects that are housed in the first “green building” on the National Mall. In 2019, the creation of the museum became the first Smithsonian effort to be the topic of a Harvard Business Review case study.
To register for the upcoming event, click here.
To listen to the Annual Humanities Horizons playlist, click here.