Visiting author Martin Puchner to discuss his most recent book at Sept. 28 presentation

Visiting author, educator and professor Martin Puchner will speak about his recent book, "Culture: The Story of Us," which tells a global history of culture that raises fundamental questions about how culture works, and how different cultures should relate to one another. Presented by the English Department, the Honors Tutorial College and the College of Fine Arts, this talk is scheduled on Thursday, Sept. 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the first floor lounge at Ellis Hall.

Celebrated author, educator, public speaker 

Puchner, the Byron and Anita Wien Professor at Harvard University, is a prize-winning author, educator, public speaker, and institution builder in the arts and humanities. His writings range from philosophy and theater to culture and technology and have been translated into many languages. Through his best-selling "Norton Anthology of World Literature" and his HarvardX MOOC "Masterpieces of World Literature", he has brought four thousand years of literature to audiences across the globe. 

Puchner's book, "The Written World," which tells the story of literature from the invention of writing to the internet, has been widely reviewed, translated into more than 20 languages, and appeared on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list. 

Puchner has advocated for the arts and humanities in a changing world, presenting lectures and workshops from the Arctic Circle to Brazil and from the Middle East to China. At Harvard, he has instituted these ideas in a new program in theater, dance and media as well as in the Mellon School of Theater and Performance Research.  

This speaking engagement is open to the public and free. A limited number of free copies of Puchner's book will be available for attendees.