Mergen-Palmer Distinguished Lecture
Since 2014, the annual Mergen-Palmer Distinguished Lecture in American Studies has brought visiting scholars to GW to share their expertise. Recent talks covered the Iraqi smallpox invasion of 2003, the national quest for food “freshness” and the history of religion in the Mississippi Delta.
Donate
2026 Mergen-Palmer Lecture, Part I
Monday, February 23, 2026
"Refusing the Politics of Elimination: A Rasquache Ethos of Abundance"
Dr. Cristina Beltrán | Associate Professor in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University
RSVP here!
2025 Mergen-Palmer Lecture
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
"On the Promise of Beauty"
Dr. Mimi Thi Nguyen | Professor of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
History
The lecture series was founded in 2014 in honor of Bernard Mergen and Phyllis Palmer, who were beloved emeriti professors of American Studies at the university. Palmer, who passed away in 2014, also taught women’s studies courses.
Both professors played a major role as scholars and teachers at the university and shared specific interests in sustainability, food studies and the environment.
Past Lectures
- Mon. April 8, 2024: Mergen-Palmer Distinguished Lecture: "Just When You Think It's Over: On Normporn and Neverending Bereavement"
- Wed. April 5, 2023: Mergen Palmer Distinguished Lecture: Queer Love on Barbary Lane: The Serial Experience of Coming Out of the Closet with Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City
- Thurs. April 21, 2022: Mergen Palmer Distinguished Lecture: The Global Curatorial Project: In Slavery's Wake: Making Black Freedom in the World and Unfinished Conversations
- Thurs. March 23: 2017: Mergen Palmer Distinguished Lecture: Staging Smallpox feat. Prof Neel Ahuja