Lorwin Lecture

Madge and Val Lorwin watch a tea ceremony being performed in their living room, circa 1981 (photo courtesy of George Sheridan)

Civil Rights, Civil Liberties

Made possible by the gift of Madge and Val Lorwin, the inaugural Lorwin Lectureship will focus on Women’s Rights in a Global World. But who were the Lorwins? A conversation with UO history professor George Sheridan.

Q: You taught in the same department as Val Lorwin. How well did you know Val and Madge Lorwin?

Val interviewed me. I am Val’s successor in his job. I went there in 1976. I moved into their place, I think it was 1978. And then I stayed there until I got married, which was in 1986. So I was there through all that time.

Anita Hill and Ellen Herman

Anita Hill: Reflections on the 2024 Lorwin Lecture

In 1991, Anita Hill started a national conversation on sexual harassment when she testified that Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had subjected her to unwanted sexual advances years earlier. Today, Hill is a leader in the fight against gender-based violence. A professor of social policy, law, and women’s studies at Brandeis University, Hill presented the 2023-24 Lorwin Lecture on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, held in partnership with the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics. The event was held May 9, 2024, as part of CSWS’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Hill was introduced by political science major Lierta Nako, president of the UO Undergraduate Law Association.

2013-14 Lorwin Lecture

Lawyer Wendy Murphy, JD, delivers the 2014 Lorwin Lecture on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. This keynote lecture focuses on “civil rights violence” and the overt and covert subjugation of violence against women as something other than a civil rights harm. Wendy Murphy specializes in the representation of crime victims, women and children. Her book, And Justice For Some: An Exposé of the Lawyers and Judges Who Let Dangerous Criminals Go Free, was published in 2007.

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2010-11 Lorwin Lecture Series

Women's Rights in a Global World

CSWS Initiates the Lorwin Lectureship on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties with a Series of Lectures, Workshops, and Symposia Focused on Women’s Rights.

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