Past Events

The concepts that express our shared humanity are proving inadequate to the challenges we face. Terms such as cosmopolitanism, humanism, and universalism can trigger unease in academic and public discourse, revealing that how we understand our oneness as human beings requires reconsideration. This transdisciplinary seminar gathers an international group of leading thinkers to engage this task.

Specifically, we constructively address a set of dilemmas that surround the concept of human oneness, including the tensions between unity and diversity, universalism and justice, essentialism and constructivism, the secular and the sacred, and human beings and their natural environment. We hope to cultivate a sustained and dynamic community of inquiry on this essential theme. Learn more.

This gathering addressed a critical gap in the global conversation on civilization-building: while postmodern critiques have made "civilization" suspect in Western discourse, this abandonment leaves us without language for imagining planetary society at precisely the moment we need it most. Yet across much of Asia and the Middle East, the term retains profound vitality, tracking closely to social realities and collective aspirations for development and progress.

Scholars from China, India, Pakistan, Nepal, the UAE, and the USA explored how to reclaim and reimagine civilization for a period of heightened interconnectivity and mutual reliance. Over three days, participants examined the crisis of modern civilization, interfaith relations, the spiritual dimensions of progress, and humanity's collective future. Learn more.

Exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence, human potential, and global justice.

A multidisciplinary series bringing together leading thinkers to explore the concept of oneness and its implications for the pressing social and ethical questions of our time. Learn more.

Some of the most promising advances in sustainable and equitable development are unfolding in rural settings. In Spring 2024, the Rural Transformations series pivots to spotlight possibilities within the United States — asking whether the transformation of Rural America's land-centric economies will usher in innovative rural capabilities or perpetuate age-old patterns of colonial extraction stemming from urban-rural power disparities. Learn more.

This series explores the historical foundations, contemporary patterns, and possible transformations of the modern research university. Learn more.

Some of the most promising advances in sustainable and equitable development are taking place in rural contexts, where a diversity of actors are striving to transform food systems, incorporate local knowledge, strengthen climate resilience, and widen participation in the development process. This series features conversations with leading thinkers at the forefront of these efforts. Learn more.

With the rise of tribalism and nationalism throughout the world, questions of collective identity and belonging have surged to prominence. This series brings together leading thinkers to examine and reframe the crises of identity confronting us in a rapidly changing global age, and to think deeply about how humanity might resolve them. Learn more.

This series explores how the material medium of architecture facilitates transcendent experiences. Each event features a virtual talk and visual presentation by a distinguished working architect, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Michael J. Crosbie. Learn more.

This series brought together leading thinkers to examine the origins, contents, and development of post-war liberalism, and to consider significant attempts to move beyond the resultant liberal imaginary without casting aside its impressive moral and political achievements. Learn more.

Developmental psychologist Niobe Way's timely new book offers an in-depth study of what boys and young men teach us about the culture we have created — one in which we value money over people, toys over human connection, and achievement over kindness. In conversation with Carol Gilligan and Shahrzad Sabet, Way explores how this "boy" culture fails all of us, what it reveals about our common humanity, and how we can create a different culture that aligns with our nature and needs as human beings. Learn more.

COMIT Senior Fellows Lee Miller and Kerilyn Schewel organized a PhD Academy at Venice International University (VIU), bringing together early-career researchers and faculty for intensive workshops and fieldwork exploring rural development, sustainability, and climate adaptation.

The experience showed us that community-building is not just a byproduct of deep, creative work, but its foundation. At VIU, we stepped out of our daily routines into a city shaped by centuries of environmental challenges, yet alive with art, culture, and innovation. In that setting, we found that deep engagement with one another and with the place itself creates the conditions for ideas to take root and develop into interconnected insights. Learn more.