On every third Thursday during the lecture period, TU Dresden publicly introduces newly appointed professors from various disciplines in their "University-wide inaugural lecture". The lectures highlight the contributions that our 600 professors make to research, transfer, and societal discourse. They also serve to promote early-career researchers who are continuously helping TU Dresden to develop into a globally visible top university for the 21^st century.

On October 13, the historian of sciences and media studies scholar Prof. Orit Halpern will present an insight into her research. She has been the head of the Key Chair of Digital Cultures at the Faculty of Linguistics, Literature and Cultural Studies at TU Dresden since 2022 and is also the Speaker of the Disruption and Societal Change (TUDiSC) Concept Group.

Her academic career has taken the versatile, leading American researcher to Duke University (USA), the Milieux Institute at Concordia University (Canada), and Harvard University (USA), among others. Honors, e.g. for her membership in the World Economic Forum (Frontier Risk Working Group), membership in the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (Berlin, Germany), and role as head of the research project "Governing through Design" (Basel, Switzerland), highlight Halpern’s commitment.

In addition, Prof. Halpern’s publications form the core of her research. Most notably “Beautiful Data: A History of Vision and Reason since 1945"
(Durham: Duke University Press, 2015) and "The Smartness Mandate" (Cambridge: MIT Press, to be published in 2022).

In her inaugural lecture, “The Smartness Mandate: Re-imagining our Technological Future,” she discusses, from a historical and ethnographic perspective, how and why the principle of “smart” technologies has entered our daily lives. In addition to the changes that digitalization has had on our understanding of nature, culture, time, and the future, Prof. Halpern considers “smart” approaches from the humanities and natural sciences that can help in solving global problems.

The lecture will be held in English and will be accompanied by a reception, where you can talk to Prof. Halpern directly.

Information on the event

Title: Prof. Orit Halpern  – „The Smartness Mandate: Re-Imagining our Technological Future“
Tag: October 13, 2022
Time: 4:40 pm – 6:10 pm (6^th double period)
Place: Heinz Schönfeld auditorium, Barkhausen Building I90, Helmholtzstraße 18, 01069 Dresden
Website: https://tu-dresden.de/tu-dresden/profil/exzellenz/uwil
Livestream: https://youtu.be/-PuzXqfJjNU

The organizers strongly recommend the use of FFP2 masks and that all participants perform a self-test before attending.

Contact:
Katharina Fritzsch - Assistent