2026 Eric Williams Memorial Lecture (EWML)- Marlon James

THIS IS A FREE EVENT
The 2026 Eric Williams Memorial Lecture (EWML) welcomes acclaimed novelist and public intellectual Marlon James for an evening of critical reflection and imaginative possibility. Centered on the theme of envisioning alternative futures, this year’s program explores how storytelling, history, and creative practice open new pathways for thinking beyond the social, political, and cultural limits of the present. Drawing on his groundbreaking body of work, James will reflect on the power of narrative to challenge dominant frameworks, recover suppressed voices, and imagine more just and expansive worlds.

The lecture continues the EWML tradition of honoring the legacy of Eric Williams by convening leading thinkers whose scholarship and artistry reshape how we understand the past and its relationship to the future. The program will include opening remarks, the featured lecture, and a moderated conversation, offering the audience an opportunity to engage deeply with questions of memory, liberation, and global Black futures.

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Host or Publisher John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies- UT Austin