Events

Monday, March 17 through Thursday, March 20

The Center for Applied Research on Targeted Violence is co-hosting a peacebuilding week at CMU from March 17-20 in partnership with Heinz College and Wellness and Meaning-Making Programs. Amidst the humanitarian crises impacting the world, this country, and our diverse communities, the Peacebuilding week program seeks to create spaces where the CMU community can engage with topics such as trauma, community and healing, and the steps we can take to contribute to peacebuilding.

Register for Peacebuilding Week.

Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholars Lecture: Immigration "Crisis" at the Border

Monday, March 17, 5 to 6:30 p.m., Gregg Learning Hall (Porter 100)

Geraldo Cadava, Northwestern University Professor of History and Latina and Latino Studies, will discuss how immigration policy has changed over time, how the border evolved and what makes the present situation both similar to and different from earlier moments of crisis.

RSVP by for the lecture by March 10

St. Patrick's Day Dinner

Monday, March 17, 5 to 8:30 p.m., Schatz Dining Room, CUC

Join us for a St. Patrick's Day dinner celebration!

Interfaith Craft Night

Monday, March 17, 6 to 7 p.m., Room 303, Highmark Center

Join us for a night of creativity and community! There will be crafts for all traditions and interests. Everyone is welcome: come craft with us.

YES YES YES

Tuesday, March 18, 5 to 6 p.m., CUC Studio Theater

The Office for Institutional Equity and Title IX, in partnership with the School of Drama and The Center for the Arts in Society, invites you to an award-winning, interactive theatre production co-created by CMU alumna Eleanor Bishop and Karin McCracken.

This dynamic production combines live performance, audience participation and video storytelling to explore the complexities of consent, healthy relationships and empathy. Audiences will follow two intertwined narratives: one focused on a positive romantic experience and the other on a young adult navigating the aftermath of sexual assault. Through live interaction, audience polling and powerful storytelling, this thought-provoking production offers a unique space for reflection, conversation and connection.

University Lecture Series: The Crisis of Climate Change and Migration

Tuesday, March 18, 5 to 6:30 p.m., McConomy Auditorium, CUC

Featuring Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, Global Refuge CEO and Lawyer.

Join us for a lecture that will describe how one of the greatest impacts of the climate crisis will be an ensuing mass migration across the globe.

The University Lecture Series (ULS) features a diverse range of lectures and performances by artists, scholars, and experts invited by Carnegie Mellon faculty, students, and staff.

This event is free and open to the public.

Register for The Crisis of Climate Change and Migration by March 18

Self-Guided Ayurvedic Acupressure Workshop for Enhanced Focus and Deep Relaxation

Tuesday, March 18, 5 to 6 p.m., Well-being Lab (Room 104), Highmark Center

Explore the ancient healing art of self-guided Ayurvedic acupressure therapy in this one-hour session. Learn how to activate key Marma points on the scalp, face and hands to enhance focus, promote deep relaxation and build emotional resilience. 

Veritas Forum: Did Humans Create God?

Tuesday, March 18, 5 to 7:30 p.m., Giant Eagle Auditorium (Baker A51)

Did Humans Create God? A conversation on morality, the existence of God and the origins of belief.

Throughout human history, belief in the divine has shaped civilizations and moral frameworks. Yet fundamental questions remain: Did we create God in our image, or were we created in God’s?

The Veritas Forum at Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh is pleased to host Dr. John Hare (Yale Divinity School) and Dr. Edouard Machery (University of Pittsburgh) for a thoughtful dialogue exploring these profound questions.

Their conversation will examine how religious belief emerged historically, whether morality requires God, how science understands spiritual experiences, and what implications God’s existence or non-existence has for human flourishing. This interdisciplinary dialogue brings together perspectives from philosophy and theology, offering insights from both theistic and naturalistic worldviews.

Book Launch: Seeing is Disbelieving with Daniel Silverman

Tuesday, March 18, 5 to 6 p.m., Posner Grand Room (Posner 340)

Join us as we celebrate the release of CMIST assistant professor Daniel Silverman's first book, "Seeing is Disbelieving: Why People Believe Misinformation in War, and When They Know Better." Drawing on case studies from Pakistan, Iraq and Syria, Silverman will explain the role of misinformation in modern conflict and discuss the broader implications for warfare, security and efforts to counter misinformation in high-stakes environments.

Learn more and register

An Evening with Bocafloja: Performance and Workshop

Tuesday, March 18, 6 to 9 p.m., Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion, CUC Lower Level

Carnegie Mellon University welcomes Bocafloja, a rapper, poet, spoken word artist and social communicator from Mexico City, for a performance, Q&A and workshop.

Known for his incisive social commentary and innovative artistic expression, Bocafloja’s work explores themes of identity, race and resistance.

This event offers an opportunity to engage with his creative process and perspectives through performance and discussion.

Free and open to the campus community.

This event is made possible by the Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics, The Kenner Room, Humanities Scholars Program, Center for the Arts in Society, The Frank-Ratchye Studio for Creative Inquiry, The Humanities Center and the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion, and is presented by the Spanish and Latin Student Association (SALSA).

Waffle Registration Brunch: Department of Social and Decision Sciences

Wednesday, March 19, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Porter 223D

Join SDS advisors and friends for fall '25 registration conversations. We will have waffles with Nutella, maple syrup, various fruits and yogurt. Come and enjoy FREE WAFFLES!

Intro to Gardening with Grow Pittsburgh

Wednesday, March 19, noon to 1:30 p.m., Connan Room, CUC

Please join the Center for Student Diversity & Inclusion, Sustainability Initiative, Green Practices, and Grow Pittsburgh for an introductory gardening workshop geared towards apartment and small-space gardeners. 

Workshop topics will include planning and caring for a garden from the ground up. We’ll touch on seed starting, soil health, planting for each season, garden pests, and growing food. We will also have a selection of seeds to choose from and the opportunity to decorate your original seed envelope to hold them until you’re ready to plant!

A light plant-based lunch will also be provided. Please register for Mosaic’s gardening workshop

Building Community in the Aftermath of Trauma by Father Paul Abernathy

Wednesday, March 19, 12:30 p.m., Hamburg Hall 1024

Historical trauma experienced among particular people groups shatters the social fabric of communities. This session will explore the role of community building in healing the wounds of generational trauma and understanding this emerging community as the foundation for social resilience.

Teaching Kitchen with Our Registered Dietitian, Jessica Rea

Wednesday, March 19, 1 to 3 p.m., Tepper Atrium

The theme for this month's teaching kitchen is "How We Taste." Sample foods with all five basic tastes: salty, sweet, sour, savory and bitter!

Dietrich College Community Connect

Wednesday, March 19, 3 to 4 p.m., Dean's Office Conference Room (Baker 154R)

Faculty, staff and graduate students are invited to join us for an opportunity to connect with members of our community, engage in conversation, and enjoy light refreshments. Drop by for a few minutes or stay for the entire event. Dean Richard Scheines and members of the college leadership team will be present to listen to your concerns and share what we know about new federal policies and their potential impact on higher education.

The Annual Margaret Morrison Distinguished Lecture in Women's History - Predatory Data: Eugenics in Big Tech & Feminist Solidarities for an Independent Future with Anita Say Chan

Wednesday, March 19, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., Simmons Auditorium B, Tepper Building

The Annual Margaret Morrison Distinguished Lecture in Women's History this year will be Predatory Data: Eugenics in Big Tech & Feminist Solidarities for an Independent Future with Anita Say Chan, Associate Professor in the School of Information Sciences & Department of Media & Cinema Studies at the University of Illinois, Champaign.

The insidious legacy of eugenics lives on in the techno-surveillance, and algorithmic authoritarianism, and data-driven discrimination of Big Tech. This talk — drawn from her recent book, Predatory Data — explains how it happened explains how it happened and how to fight back.

Anita Say Chan, Ph.D., is a scholar and educator dedicated to feminist and decolonial approaches to technology. She is an Associate Professor of Information Sciences and Media, and founder of the Community Data Clinic at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her latest book Predatory Data: Eugenics in Big Tech and Our Fight for an Independent Future is available via Open Access and with the University of California Press.

Film Screening: "Bravado Magenta"

Wednesday, March 19, 6 to 9 p.m., Frank-Ratchye Studio for Creative Inquiry (CFA 111)

Bravado Magenta is a short documentary which articulates itself as a cartography of racialized masculinities through a transversal analysis on coloniality.

Visual poetry, non-linear narratives and provocative film aesthetics illustrate the constitution of Bravado Magenta as a theatrical exercise of self-representation, challenging traditional schemes of documentary filmmaking.

Bravado Magenta is a deep journey into the political discursivity of the body, with testimonials from Devyn Springer, Zoé Samudzi, Fabián Villegas, Njoki wa Ngugi, Rodolfo Rensoli, Zahira Kelly, amongst others.

Written and directed by interdisciplinary artist and scholar Bocafloja (Nana Dijo, 2016), cinematographed by Juan L. Azpiri and Cambiowashere, Bravado Magenta engages in a relevant discussion on sexuality, gender and global south studies.

This event is free and open to the campus community.

Thank you to sponsors: Center for the Arts in Society, Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics, The Kenner Room, The Humanities Center, 2024-25 Sylvia & David Steiner Speaker Series and the Humanities Scholars Program.

Monthly Crafternoon

Thursday, March 20, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Well-being Lab, Room 104, Highmark Center

Come take a creative break and connect with others.

Pittsburgh Builds Bridges Art Workshop by Ebtehal Badawi

Thursday, March 20, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion, CUC Lower Level

Pittsburgh Builds Bridges is a social movement that encourages diversity, inclusion and connection within the community.

After her son experienced bullying at a young age, Ebtehal Badawi began teaching acceptance and love through painting to youth and adults across Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Builds Bridges has curated events that have brought together over 4,000 children and adults to create murals that embody unison and harmony and discuss how to build bridges in their communities. All supplies will be provided!

Fix-it Fair: Mending Workshop

Thursday, March 20, 3 to 7 p.m., Sustainability Studio, Hunt Library, First Floor

Do you have shirts missing buttons or pants that need hemmed? Don’t throw them out…bring them to the Fix-it Fair!

We’ll have menders available to help you repair your items and make them good as new. Don’t have anything needing repairing but want to learn? Stop by to learn a few new mending skills.

Politics & Pie

Thursday, March 20, 5 to 6 p.m., Posner Grand Room (Posner 340)

Stop by to talk with CMIST faculty, academic advisors and your peers to learn about the wide variety of international relations and political science courses offered by CMIST in fall 2025 - all while enjoying delicious pie from Piebird!

Spaces of Treblinka - A Conversation with Author Dr. Jacob Flaws

Thursday, March 20, 5 to 7 p.m., Steinberg Auditorium (Baker A53)

Author Dr. Jacob Flaws will discuss his new book "Spaces of Treblinka," which utilizes testimonies, oral histories and recollections from Jewish, German and Polish witnesses to create a holistic representation of the Treblinka death camp during its operation.

This narrative rejects the historical misconception that Treblinka was an isolated Nazi extermination camp with few witnesses and fewer survivors. Rather than the secret, sanitized site of industrial killing Treblinka was intended to be, Jacob Flaws argues, Treblinka’s mass murder was well known to the nearby townspeople who experienced the sights, sounds, smells, people, bodies and train cars the camp ejected into the surrounding world.

Through spatial reality, Flaws portrays the conceptions, fantasies, ideological assumptions and memories of Treblinka from witnesses in the camp and surrounding towns. To do so he identifies six key spaces that once composed the historical site of Treblinka: the ideological space, the behavioral space, the space of life and death, the interactional space, the sensory space and the extended space. By examining these spaces Flaws reveals that there were more witnesses to Treblinka than previously realized, as the transnational groups near and within the camp overlapped and interacted.

"Spaces of Treblinka" provides a staggering and profound reassessment of the relationship between knowing and not knowing and asks us to confront the timely warning that we, in our modern, interconnected world, can all become witnesses.

Spring Refresh: Tarot Card Reading and Reiki Healing

Thursday, March 20, 5 to 7 p.m., Well-being Lab (Room 104), Highmark Center

Spots are limited. Tarot card readings and Reiki healing will be done on a first-come, first-served basis. Open to all. No pre-registration required. 

March MLK Reading Series - "Cactus Country: A Boyhood Memoir" by Zoe Bossiere

Monday, March 24, noon to 1 p.m., Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion, CUC Lower Level

A striking literary memoir of gender fluidity, class, masculinity and the American Southwest that captures the author’s experience coming of age in a Tucson, Arizona, trailer park.

Join the Center for Student Diversity & Inclusion for a discussion centered on our February MLK Reading Series selection: "Cactus Country: A Boyhood Memoir" by Zoe Bossiere. Please fill out the registration form to attend.

A limited number of copies of each book will be made available for campus community members to read and commit to participate in a featured lunch dialogue.

Threads of Joy, Quilting How-To & Service Project

Monday, March 24, noon to 1 p.m., Center for Student Diveristy and Inclusion, CUC Lower Level

Come partake in the shared, intergenerational ritual of sewing led by Christine Milcarek, an emeritus professor from the University of Pittsburgh. Christine will lead us in a discussion of the intersectional history of quilt making, perform a demo, and help us construct our original piece(s) for Pittsburgh’s The Linus Project. The Linus Project works to give hand-made blankets to local children in need.

Ernest Nagel Lectures in Philosophy & Science: Preferences Reconsidered

Tuesday, March 25, 5 to 6:30 p.m., Adamson Wing (Baker A53)

Presented by Daniel M. Hausman, Herbert A. Simon Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

This talk defends the central theses of my 2012 book, "Preference, Value, Choice, and Welfare." I argue that preferences as understood in mainstream economics are total subjective comparative evaluations. They are comparative evaluations because they rank alternatives and motivate actions. They are subjective because they combine with beliefs to explain and predict actions and because they help provide reasons for action. They are total in the sense that everything that influences choices other than beliefs and physical constraints does so via influencing preferences. In addition to filling in and defending this conception of preferences and offering an account of how economists use preferences to explain and predict actions and to give advice, this talk responds to criticisms of this account of preferences by Erik Angner and Johanna Thoma.

LCAL Informal Conversations on Research (ICOR) with Jose Estrada

Wednesday, March 26, 4 to 5:30 p.m., Posner Grand Room (Posner 340)

The Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics' Informal Conversations on Research (ICOR) series offers casual discussions on departmental research in language acquisition, literary and cultural studies, and technology-enhanced learning.

Join us on March 26 for a talk by José Estrada, assistant teaching professor of Hispanic Studies, titled "The 'Butterfly' Structure: Nahuatl Poetics via Transcription and Translation."

This presentation will explore how transcribing and translating archival documents can reveal colonial cultural encounters. Focusing on a papal bull housed in the Newberry Library, Dr. Estrada will examine the "butterfly" structure in Nahuatl poetics and its implications for understanding language in 17th-century Colonial Mexico.

Sona: Immersive Storytelling Festival

Thursday, March 27 to Saturday, March 29, The Kenner Room (Tepper 1024)

Sona: Immersive Storytelling Festival is a groundbreaking event, hosted by The Kenner Room and the Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics, that aims to bring together filmmakers and creatives in the fields of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and 360° video, including animation and 3D design. Over three days, participants will explore the future of storytelling through immersive media, engaging in screenings, panels, workshops and discussions.

The festival will serve to showcase cutting-edge work and a symposium for the exchange of ideas among fellow creatives in this rapidly evolving field. Sona is open to all, and inclusive of emerging artists, especially those marginalized and underrepresented voices who are telling stories using new immersive technologies.

In its first year, Sona hopes to establish itself as a space for immersive storytelling, working primarily with film and video.

Learn more by visiting sonafestival.com.

CMU Prison Education Project Fall 2025 Course Info Session

Thursday, March 27, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., Baker 254Q

The Department of English will be offering two courses next semester as part of the CMU Prison Education Project (CMU PEP) program:

• 76245 Shakespeare: Tragedies & Histories - with Professor Stephen Wittek
• 76251 Exploring Creative Writing in Community - with Professor Jane McCafferty

Come learn more about the courses and about CMU PEP! Previous students have shared that participating in CMU PEP was a life-changing experience for them.

Please RSVP by March 21, as lunch will be provided.

CMIST Scientists & Strategists: Cyber Flashpoints in Space with Laura DeNardis

Thursday, March 27, 5 to 6:30 p.m., Posner Grand Room (Posner 340)

Join CMIST as we welcome Dr. Laura DeNardis for a discussion on the growing challenges of space cybersecurity and governance. From navigation and financial platforms to national security, we increasingly rely on space. However, satellite congestion, space debris, and threats like energy weapons and anti-satellite missiles pose a significant risk. Professor DeNardis will discuss the governance considerations needed as we work towards building a secure solar-system Internet, including the security implications of shifting stakeholders from nation-states to private entities.

About our Speaker: Laura DeNardis is professor and endowed chair in technology, ethics, and society at Georgetown University. A scholar of cybersecurity and technology governance, DeNardis was listed as one of thirty-two Innovators Building a Better Future by Wired UK. Among her many books, "The Internet in Everything: Freedom and Security in a World with No Off Switch" was listed as a Financial Times Top Technology Book of 2020 and her book "The Global War for Internet Governance" is considered a definitive source for understanding conflicts in cyberspace. DeNardis is an affiliated fellow of the Yale Information Society Project, where she previously served as executive director. She served as the research director of the Global Commission on Internet Governance from 2014 to 2016. She holds an engineering science degree from Dartmouth, an MS in engineering from Cornell, a PhD in science and technology studies from Virginia Tech, and was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from Yale Law School.

Register for Cyber Flashpoints in Space

Ballpark Foods

Thursday, March 27, 5 to 8:30 p.m., Schatz Dining Room, CUC

Celebrate MLB opening night in style with some delicious ballpark themed foods!

Ernest Nagel Lectures in Philosophy & Science: Health & Wellbeing - Some Complications

Thursday, March 27, 5 to 6:30 p.m., Adamson Wing (Baker A36)

Presented by Daniel M. Hausman, Herbert A. Simon Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

As something that is instrumentally and intrinsically good for people, health contributes to well- being. Yet measuring health by its contribution to well-being is problematic. There is evidence that people do not appraise health states by their bearing on well-being. The contribution of health to well-being is not separable from the contributions of other goods, and individuals who have serious health deficits can restructure their lives so as to attain a level of well-being as high or higher than the level of well-being of those who have no health problems. Moreover, from a public perspective in a liberal state, what matters about health is more its contribution to opportunity than its contribution to well-being.

Monthly Chair Massage

Friday, March 28, Concierge Desk, Highmark Center

Join us for a free five-minute chair massage on the last Friday of every month at the Highmark Center. This event is free and open to all. No registration required. 

Ernest Nagel Lectures in Philosophy & Science: Preferences and Health Measures

Friday, March 28, 3 to 5 p.m., Baker 336B

Presented by Daniel M. Hausman, Herbert A. Simon Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In this, the third of the 2025 Ernest Nagel lectures, I consider why health economists, who are concerned to allocate health-related resources to promote population health, measure health by eliciting the preferences or opinions of a random sample of the population. Eliciting preferences has two main objectives: to gather evidence concerning the value of health states and to determine what value the population places on health states. Eliciting preferences does not serve these purposes very well, but it is successful in legitimizing the use of the resulting measurements. Preferences are a particularly inapt basis for the measurement of children’s health. The essay ends with a consideration of alternative ways to measure health and a general reflection on health measurement in children and adults.

Film Screening and Director Q&A: "We Were Here"

Friday, March 28, 5 to 7 p.m., McConomy Auditorium, CUC

Join us for a special screening of "We Were Here", followed by a Q&A with director Fred Kuwornu. This groundbreaking multilingual film unveils the untold history of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe through iconic artworks. Shot across Europe,"We Were Here" challenges the dominant narrative that all Black individuals of the era were enslaved or servile. Instead, it brings to light the presence of Black princes, ambassadors, merchants and religious figures—stories absent from traditional history books.

Narrated from an Afro-European perspective, the film interweaves art history with social narratives, offering a fresh lens on the European Renaissance and the complex tapestry of Black presence often overlooked in conventional accounts.

This event is free and open to the public.

This event is brought to you by the Center for Black European Studies & the Atlantic, the Humanities Center, the Center for Print, Networks and Performance, the Center for the Arts in Society, the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion, the General Education Program and the Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics.

Food Truck Roundup

Wednesday, April 2, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., West Walkway (next to the CUC)

The Center for Shared Prosperity is hosting a food truck roundup with global flavors and chances to win discounts on lunch. In partnership with the Pittsburgh Hispanic Development Corporation we are hosting Los Gallitos (Mexican) and Antojitos Hondurenos and more (Honduran). We will also have crowd pleasers Momma-licious (soul food) and Caribbean Vybz (Caribbean curry). Come have lunch with us and support these local entrepreneurs!