Moral Reflection and the Public University

Three Stories from Literary Theory

A Dinner Talk with Dr. Dena Fehrenbacher

Our contemporary moment has seen increased interest in the moral capacity and formation of university students — whether that is in response to global humanitarian crises, the ethics of developing technologies, or the personal rootedness of Gen Z. Scholars across the political spectrum have turned to traditional touchstones of liberal education, be that Greek philosophers, Victorian educators, or postwar liberal humanists with the idea that liberal education should involve moral reflection.

But this talk will consider the role moral reflection and moral commitment play (and have played) even when we don’t acknowledge it, in the places we might not expect, and in the literary theory that gave us helpful language to critique education-as-moral formation in the first place. Examples from Roland Barthes, Fredric Jameson and others are a far cry from advocates of liberal education as moral education — and yet, they leave open an important gap for moral reflection that we might learn from.

This event is open to students, recent graduates, BINST alumni, and faculty. Dinner will be provided. RSVP is required.

Date: Monday, March 2, 2026

Time: 5:30PM - 6:45PM

Location: Berkeley Institute (2134 Allston Way, 2nd floor)