January 5, 2026, 2-4 pm – Fellows and External Fellows ChatGPT and the Future of AI by Terrence J. Sejnowski (2024) Discussion leader: Daphne Maurer An accessible and timely introduction to how ChatGPT works on the surface and under the hood by someone at the forefront of AI and neuroscience. The author illustrates his points […]
Speaker: Isaac Bogoch, Infectious Diseases, Medicine, U of T Title: “Emerging Infections and How to Fight Them” Abstract: We will discuss how infectious diseases emerge and ultimately spread around the world, and then delve into mechanisms to best prevent, detect and respond to outbreaks, including discussing how misinformation and disinformation play a role. Bio: Isaac […]
Colloquium, January 22, 2026, 2-4pm – Fellows & External Fellows Only – in-person only Topic: “What is the purpose of education?” Organized by: Mary Finlay Lunch before the colloquium: The lunch is 12:30pm at TBD. Please note, the location is approximately a 10 min walk (350.0 m) from the Senior College Centre. The colloquium is at 2pm […]
February 2, 2026, 2-4 pm - Fellows and External Fellows The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 by Rashid Khalidi (2020) Discussion Leaders: David Milne and Jon Allen While the Palestine question is invariably front-page news, we have an urgent need for a good historical account of the […]
March 2, 2026, 2-4 pm – Fellows and External Fellows Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (2017) Discussion Leader: Lisa Steele The “bardo” is a Tibetan Buddhist concept referring to an intermediate state between death and rebirth. Set in 1862, the early years of the American Civil War, the novel opens with President Abraham […]
April 6, 2026, 2-4 pm – Fellows and External Fellows Every Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times that Made Handel’s “Messiah” by Charles King (2024) Discussion Leaders: Linda Hutcheon and Michael Hutcheon George Frideric Handel’s (1741) Messiah is an oratorio that has been called “the greatest piece of participatory art ever created.” Choirs and orchestras perform […]
May 4, 2026, 2-4 pm – Fellows and External Fellows Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (1962) Discussion Leader: Sara Shettleworth Published only 64 years ago, Silent Spring already qualifies as a classic. As an accessible popular account of the damage being done to the environment by substances such as the then-common pesticide DDT, it was […]
