Friday, November 3, 2023 – “The Power of Walking: Of Mental, Physical, and Political Perambulations”

Dr. Dani Bassett, University of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Perry Zurn, American University, will be speaking on Friday, November 3rd, from noon – 1:00 pm in OCGE Auditorium, Room 107, as part of the Louise M. Olmsted lecture series. (*Lunch will be served on a first-come basis.)

Dr. Dani Bassett

Dr. Perry Zurn

Abstract: How does change happen? In a world rife with social inequalities, epistemic injustices, and environmental devastation, how can we radically reconfigure the many landscapes we have inherited? In this talk, Drs. Bassett and Zurn discuss the power of walking–walking in the mind, walking through our environments, and walking toward freedom in political movements. Drawing on philosophy, neuroscience, graph theory, and literature, they propose something quite simple: Where and how we walk in a space can either underscore its lines of organization or actively deteriorate them. Change requires moving differently.