Events

Few medieval figures enjoy greater name recognition than Marco Polo. Today, he is a brand whose name connotes exoticism, adventure, and East-West travel; academic critics sometime see him as the precursor to European explorers who cast a colonizing gaze over non-Western parts of the world. The source of all these images is the book usually […]

The 7th Public Philosophy Network Conference, on the theme of "Facing Technology: The Role of Public Philosophy," will be hosted by the Center for Public Philosophy at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in partnership with the Baskin School of Engineering and the UC Santa Cruz Humanities Division. The conference is co-sponsored by the Humanities […]

FREE IN-STORE EVENT: Bookshop welcomes poets Tess Taylor, Danusha Laméris, and Ellen Bass for a reading of their beautiful anthology Leaning Toward Light: Poems for Gardens & the Hands that Tend Them, an inviting selection of poems from a wide range of voices that speak to the collective urge to grow, tend, and heal—an evocative […]

For many people, airports may seem like alienating “nonplaces”—as anthropologist Marc Augé put it—where we rush to make connections and spend long, monotonous hours waiting for delayed flights. But airports are fascinating sites that can tell us a lot about the places where they are situated. Among other things, they are complex infrastructures where people, […]

FREE IN-STORE EVENT: Bookshop welcomes New York Times bestselling author Susan Casey (The Wave) for a discussion of The Underworld, her awe-inspiring portrait of the mysterious world beneath the waves, and of the men and women who seek to uncover its secrets. "A fascinating account of the ocean below its twilight zone." —Kirkus Reviews, starred […]

Join Shakespeare scholars and artists for two days of lectures, discussions, and demonstrations about the 2023 Season’s main stage productions, The Taming of the Shrew and King Lear. The Weekend with Shakespeare Lecture Series is free, however seating is limited! Please email Rebecca Clark, Santa Cruz Shakespeare's Education Coordinator, at rebecca@santacruzshakespeare.org, to reserve your spot. […]

The Dickens Universe is a unique cultural event that brings together scholars, teachers, students, and members of the general public for a week of stimulating discussion and festive social activity on the beautiful Santa Cruz campus of the University of California—all focused on one or two Victorian novels, usually (but not always) one by Charles […]

Tickets are now on sale for Santa Cruz Shakespeare's 2023 season, featuring The Book of Will and The Taming of the Shrew. Co-sponsored by the Humanities Institute. The season runs from July 13-August 27. The Book of Will, by Lauren Gunderson - Directed by Laura Gordon A love letter to William Shakespeare, this moving and joyful […]