Throughout time, catastrophes have shaped the world we live in. In the 2019-2020 Great Lecture Series, Penn Museum explores catastrophes from their causes and immediate impacts, to their implications and ingenuities. Natural and nuclear disasters, along with disease and deluge, will all be explored—from Pompeii to Chernobyl and mass extinction to the flu pandemic. The lectures will be held 6-7 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month through June. 

What better way to delve into the thrill of discovery than to hear from acclaimed Penn faculty and invited special guests during the museum’s signature lecture series? The annual Greats Lectures offer visitors opportunities dig into the past through vivid details and incredible insights into humanity over time and space.

New! Come early to join a PhD candidate or collections expert for a pre-lecture Daily Dig object talk at 4:30 p.m. that will highlight the month’s lecture topic, with no registration required. 

And before each of the Greats Lectures, the Museum Café will serve delicious, daily-prepared hot entrees, soup, and sandwiches. Arrive in the late afternoon to enjoy all the Museum has to offer!

Due to Harrison Auditorium renovations, the November 6 Great Lectures will be presented in Rainey Auditorium. For December 4 and beyond, the series will permanently move back into the newly transformed Harrison Auditorium.

$50 Subscription or $7 per lecture for museum members; $80 subscription or $10 per lecture for the general public. https://www.penn.museum/events/adult-programs/great-lecture-series-great-catastrophes​​​​​​​

November 6: Using Archaeology to Improve Climate Models: the LandCover6k Project

December 4: “Blacker and Denser Than Any Other Night”: The Destruction of Pompeii and  Its Aftermath

January 8:     Great Catastrophes in Earth History

February 5:   Overturning of Space and Time: The End of the Inca Empire

March 4:       Spit Spreads Death: The Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919 in Philadelphia

April 1:          The Classic Maya Collapse: New Evidence on a Great Mystery

May 6:          “An Earthquake That Shook the World”: Seismicity and Society in the Late Fourth Century CE

June 3:         How Did They Survive? The Aftermaths of Chernobyl