Thanks to a generous donation, Dean David Golland is pleased to announce the Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series for the 2025-2026 academic year. The Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series will invite authors to speak to groups of students, staff, faculty and administrators.
In conjunction with Monmouth University’s Constitution Day, we are pleased to welcome Lisa Sarnoff Gochman, retired career appellate prosecutor and author, on Wednesday, Oct. 8, at 2:45 p.m. in Pozycki Hall Auditorium (PZ115). Gochman’s memoir, “At the Altar of the Appellate Gods: Arguing before the Supreme Court”, details her experience arguing the landmark criminal sentencing case, Apprendi v. New Jersey, before the United States Supreme Court. Read the unofficial bonus chapter of Gochman’s memoir.
Blake Butler is the author of twelve book-length works, recently including Molly, Void Corporation, and UXA.GOV. His short fiction, interviews, reviews, and essays have appeared widely, including in The New York Times, Harper’s, The Paris Review, Fence, Bomb, Bookforum, and as an ongoing column at Vice. In 2021, he was longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize. He is a founding editor of HTMLGIANT.
This exciting new exhibit celebrates the photography of Eric Meola, whose iconic photo of Springsteen and saxophonist Clarence Clemons graces the Born to Run album cover. The free exhibit will be open to the public in Monmouth University’s Rechnitz Hall DiMattio Gallery from Friday, September 5 through December 18, 2025. See gallery hours and more here.
Georgia O’Keeffe: the Brightness of Light is a 2-hour documentary exploring the life and art of the most important woman artist of the 20th century – the ”Mother of Modernism.” In the 1920s, O’Keeffe became famous for her paintings of flowers, bones, and the beauty of nature. She posed nude for shocking photographs by Alfred Stieglitz, but denied that her paintings depicted sexual imagery. In the 1970s, she emerged as an iconic role model for women.
Following the screening, Producer Ellen Casey Wagner and Director Paul Wagner will host a discussion to share insights into the making of the documentary and answer audience questions.
In 1989, one year after they got married, Paul and Ellen Wagner formed American Focus,
their non-profit organization dedicated to the creation of documentary films about America
and her people. Since then, they have released over thirty films, including several feature
films broadcast nationally on public television: Out of Ireland, about the history of Irish
emigration to America; Good Work, about master craftsmen in the building arts; and Black
in Blue, about the four football players at the University of Kentucky who broke the color
line in the Southeastern Conference. In 1999, Paul and Ellen released Windhorse, their award-winning dramatic feature film about young Tibetans and their struggle for freedom under the Chinese communist regime, filmed secretly in China and Nepal. As a team, Ellen is the president of American Focus and assumes the producing duties, while Paul serves as the writer and director of their films. Prior to their formation of American Focus, Ellen worked as a producer for WETA, the public television station in Washington, DC. , and Paul was an independent filmmaker, winning an Oscar and several Emmy Awards for his documentary work.
The Institute for Global Understanding (IGU) and the Center for the Arts at Monmouth University invite you to the first Pearson’s World Cinema Series (PWCS) movie and discussion event of the spring semester on Thursday, February 26th, at 6:05 PM in Pollak Theatre. We will screen the movie Chile, ’76 (2022) directed by Manuela Martelli. The movie will be hosted by Dr. Debora Machado Nunes with Prof. Frank Cipriani. Screening will be followed by a discussion and refreshments.
The Institute for Global Understanding (IGU) and the Center for the Arts at Monmouth University invite you to our second Pearson’s World Cinema Series movie and discussion event of the spring semester on Thursday, March 26th, at 6:05 PM in the Pozycki Auditorium. We will screen the movie Green Border (2023) directed by Agneiszka Holland, followed by a post-screening Q&A session hosted by Dr. Frank Fury with Prof. William Gorman as discussant. We hope to see you there!
James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim take everyone’s favorite storybook characters and bring them together for a timeless, yet relevant, piece… and a rare modern classic. The Tony Award-winning book and score are both enchanting and touching. (Source: MTI).
This is the Institute for Global Understanding (IGU) and the Center for the Arts at Monmouth University’s first Pearson’s World Cinema Series (PWCS) movie and discussion event of the fall semester on Thursday, September 25th, at 6:05PM in the Great Hall Auditorium. We will screen the movie Evil Does Not Exist (2023), directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, followed by a post-screening Q&A session hosted by Dean Dave Golland and with Prof. Chris DeRosa as discussant. A post-screening discussions and refreshments will follow.
The Institute for Global Understanding (IGU) and the Center for the Arts at Monmouth University invite you to the third Pearson’s World Cinema Series (PWCS) movie and discussion event of the fall semester on Thursday, November 13th, at 6:05 PM in Pozycki Hall Auditorium. The event is co-sponsored by the Global Understanding Convention 2025.
We will screen the movie Between Two Worlds (2021) directed by Emmanuel Carrere. The movie will be hosted by Dr. Manuel Chavez with Dr. Marina Vujnovic. Screening will be followed by a discussion and refreshments.
