The Last Man at 200: Imagining the Future After Environmental Disaster
An event series and conference considering postapocalyptic political thought from Mary Shelley's The Last Man (1826) to Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven (2014.)
All events are free and open to the public (tickets required).
Registration is open now for events in Jenkins Nanovic and McKenna Halls. Registration for events in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center will begin on August 19.
Events:
Thursday, September 24, 2026
The Last Man and the Environmental Humanities
3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Panel Discussion followed by Audience Q&A, Reception, and Book Launch
Jenkins Nanovic Halls, Room 1030
Speakers:
- Sam Piccolo (Political Science, City University of New York)
- Fredrik Albritton Jonsson (History, The University of Chicago)
- Amy Shuffelton (Philosophy, Loyola University Chicago)
Chair:
- David Armitage (History, Harvard University and 2024 Niemeyer Lecturer in Political Philosophy), will speak about the legacy of Gerhart Niemeyer for the Humanities.
Book Launch:
Eileen Hunt's dual bicentennial edition of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's The Last Man and The Journal of Sorrow (Oxford World's Classics, 2026) will have a book launch, sale, and signing alongside a reception for registered attendees in the atrium of Nanovic Jenkins Halls immediately following the Environmental Humanities panel.
Free online registration is open now.
Thursday, September 24, 2026
Mary Shelley, Emily St. John Mandel, and the Environmental Humanities
An Evening with Emily St. John Mandel, Author of Station Eleven
In conversation with Eileen Hunt, professor of political science, and Roy Scranton, professor of English.
6:00 p.m. Fireside Chat and Audience Q&A
Philbin Theatre, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
Reception and book signing to follow.
Tickets are limited, free, and available to the public on August 19.
Emily St. John Mandel is the bestselling author of numerous novels, including The Glass Hotel, Station Eleven, and Sea of Tranquility. Station Eleven, which was a finalist for a National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award, won the 2015 Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Toronto Book Award, and the Morning News Tournament of Books. It was also adapted into a limited series for HBO. Her short fiction and essays have been anthologized in numerous collections, including Best American Mystery Stories 2013. She is a staff writer for The Millions.
8:00 p.m. Screening of a Station Eleven episode and audience Q&A with Emily St. John Mandel
Browning Cinema, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
The audience Q&A will be led by Ricky Herbst from the University of Notre Dame's Department of Film, Television, and Theatre.
Tickets are limited, free, and available to the public on August 19, 2026.
Friday, September 25, 2026
Mary Shelley's The Last Man at 200: A book conference and bicentennial celebration
8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
McKenna Hall9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Panel 1 - Form and Sources: Metafiction, Wordsworth, and Percy Bysshe Shelley
McKenna Hall
Speakers:
- Yasmin Solomonescu (English, The University of Notre Dame)
- Rebecca Anne Barr (English and Gender & Sexuality Studies, University of Cambridge)
- Lisa Vargo (English, University of Saskatchewan)
Chair:
- Roy Scranton (English, Creative Writing, and Environmental Humanities, The University of Notre Dame)
11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Panel 2 - Critical Backgrounds: Wollstonecraft, Byron, and Greek Independence
McKenna Hall
Speakers:
- Rachel Feder (English & Literary Arts, University of Denver)
- Omar Miranda (English, University of San Francisco)
- Maria Schoina (English, Aristotle University)
Chair:
- Yasmin Solomonescu (English, The University of Notre Dame)
2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Keynote Lecture - The Last Man Today: Temporal Dislocation, Textual Multiplicity, Plausible Plague
McKenna Hall
Speaker:
- Susan Wolfson (English, Princeton University)
Chair and Introduction:
- Omar Miranda (English, University of San Francisco and Vice President, Keats-Shelley Association of America)
4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Panel 3 - Futures of The Last Man: Political Science Fiction, Queerness, and Posthumanism
McKenna Hall
Speakers:
- Duncan Bell (Politics & International Relations, University of Cambridge)
- Kate Singer (Humanities & English, Mt. Holyoke College)
- David Gunkel (Communications & Philosophy, Northern Illinois University)
Chair:
- Ricky Herbst (Film, Television, & Theatre, The University of Notre Dame)
Sponsors:
Ray and Celeste Biagini Endowment for Political Theory
Franco Family Institute for Liberal Arts and the Public Good, Henkels Lecture Fund
University of Notre Dame Provost's Office Arts Initiative
Glynn Family Honors Program
University of Notre Dame Film, Television, and Theatre Department
University of Notre Dame English Department
University of Notre Dame Creative Writing Program
University of Notre Dame Political Science Department
DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
Environmental Humanities Initiative
Keats-Shelley Association of America - 2026 Curran Symposium
Please contact the faculty organizer, Professor Eileen M. Hunt (ehunt@nd.edu), or the graduate student assistant, Emma Schmidt (eschmid8@nd.edu), with any questions.
The Niemeyer Lectures honor the contributions and memory of the late Gerhart Niemeyer (1907-1997), professor of political philosophy at the University of Notre Dame from 1955 to 1997.
This biennial lecture series is made possible by the generosity of Notre Dame alumnus Raymond Biagini.