Philomathean Society - Annual Orations

Annual Orations

Every year, Philo presents a public annual oration to the University, given by a prominent figure in the arts and sciences. Recent orations have included the following:

• On 6 April 2011, Philo hosted noted environmental historian Jared Diamond. Diamond presented to more than 1,000 members of the University and local community on the role of water in the collapse or survival of societies, building on his influential book, Collapse.

• On 3 March 2010, Philo hosted feminism, gender, and sexuality theorist Judith Butler. Butler presented for approximately two hours on "Performativity and Precarity" to more than 400 University of Pennsylvania students and faculty.

• On 23 April 2009, Philo hosted American literary theorist, legal scholar, and New York Times columnist Stanley Fish. Drawing from his then-unpublished book Save The World On Your Own Time, Fish argued that professors' relationships with students should be strictly academic in nature.

• On 16 April 2008, Philo hosted philosopher Daniel Dennett, who spoke on the role of cultural evolution.

• On 6 April 2005, Philo hosted former United States intelligence agent and counterterrorism specialist Malcolm Wrightson Nance.

• On 7 April 2004, Philo hosted playwright Arthur Miller. Miller delivered scenes from his satirical work Resurrection Blues to a more than 800 Penn students, faculty, and staff at Penn's Zellerbach Theater.

• On 11 February 2003, Philo hosted novelist and essayist Salman Rushdie. Rushdie discussed many of his literary works, political views, and personal anecdotes in Penn's Irvine Auditorium.

• On 10 April 2002, Philo hosted journalist Joe Klein, author of Primary Colors, the once-anonymously-authored investigation into the 1992 Democratic Party Presidential Primary. Klein discussed Bill Clinton's presidency and contemporary American politics.

• On 1 May 2001, Philo hosted physicist Brian Greene. Green explained general relativity, quantum mechanics, and super-string theory to approximately 400 Penn students, faculty, and staff in Penn's Houston Hall.

• On 14 April 1994, Philo hosted author, social critic, and feminist Camille Paglia. Paglia discussed free speech and criticized the academic establishment in front of approximately 500 attendees.

• On 17 April 1990, Philo hosted author Joyce Carol Oates. Oates read one of her own short stories, Family, and discussed its unconventional structure.