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Events

Explore our upcoming events, find video and audio from our past events, and subscribe to stay updated on all of our talks, panels, and live webcasts.

Welcome to the Berkman Klein Center’s events. These get-togethers are all about having great conversations and making new connections in a friendly and inclusive space. We believe everyone has something interesting to say. Please bring your ideas, experiences, and unique perspectives. Feel free to critique ideas and speak from your own experience, all in the spirit of lively and respectful discourse.

Thanks for helping us create a great community atmosphere!

Our hybrid and virtual events are hosted on Zoom with closed-captioning. Questions can be submitted to the moderator, who will highlight popular and emerging themes and relay them to the speakers. Please note that translation services are currently unavailable.

Public event recordings will be available one week after the event. You can find them on the event page or BKC’s YouTube channel. For the latest updates, follow BKC on X or LinkedIn.

Respiratory illnesses like flu, COVID-19, and RSV affect millions annually. Protect yourself and others by wearing a high-quality face mask in crowded indoor settings and staying home if you're unwell.

Harvard University and the Berkman Klein Center welcome individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact our Event Specialist at [email protected] in advance of your participation or visit. Requests for American Sign Language interpreters and/or CART providers should be made at least two weeks in advance, if possible. Please note that the University will make every effort to secure services, but that services are subject to availability.

For further questions about accessibility on Harvard's campus, we invite visitors to check out Harvard University Disability Resources page and the Digital Accessibility page.

For in-person attendees, below is a list of resources regarding parking and accessibility at HLS. Harvard is a tough area to find parking, but we do have a number of options around Lewis.

For those with accessibility needs who have handicap parking permits:

  1. Private HLS parking is available at 10 Everett St Garage (the garage recommended for events) for a moderate fee. Passes must be purchased in advance and printed ahead of time. For more info on Accessible Parking at HLS click here.
  2. Public handicap spots are spread out throughout Cambridge. Click here for a guide to public Cambridge parking, and click for campus interactive accessibility maps. The closest spots within reasonable walking distance and NO major roadways to cross are located at 2 Kirkland St, 23 Everett St, and 12 Oxford St. All 3 locations are located within 1 block of Lewis. Please note, so long as the driver has a legal handicap permit, they can park at any public, paid metered spot, or "Residents Only" spot in Cambridge, but MUST have their permit displayed at all times in their car window. If the permit is not visible, they will be ticketed and/or towed. They do NOT need to park in a handicap spot so long as their permit is visible.
  3. The most accessible streets to park on (meaning no major roadways to cross and within reasonable distance of Lewis) are Everett St, Oxford St, and Kirkland St.

For those not using handicap parking permits:

  1. Private HLS parking is available at 10 Everett St Garage, 52 Oxford St Garage, and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. These are the 3 privately owned Harvard garages recommended. Click here for daily permit purchasing information, which must be done ahead of the event. A day rate is $25. Click here for Harvard’s Parking Map.
  2. Public, metered parking spots are available. They range in maximum parking time limit from 2-4 hours for $1.50-$2.00/hour. Please note, if you pay using the mobile Passport Parking app, you will NOT be able to renew your session once it ends. You will have to feed the meter using coins as the app will not permit you to surpass the maximum parking limit. (continued below).
  3. Car-pooling and public transportation are great ways to save money and time. These methods of transportation are highly recommended to those who can do so! 

The Berkman Klein Center is located on the 4th and 5th floors of the Lewis Law Center. The street address is 1557 Massachusetts Avenue. Most events occur in the 5th floor multipurpose room. The Center is wheelchair-accessible and includes accessible restrooms. The building is key card access only. For public events, staff will be stationed at the door to allow entry.

If an event is being catered, it will be noted in the event description and you will be prompted to indicate your dietary preferences on the RSVP form. Food is always offered on a first come, first served basis. The more we know, the better we can prepare, so please always RSVP. If you were unable to RSVP, please still come but consider not taking a meal unless there is an abundance.

Using a variety of local caterers, BKC does its best to provide an assortment of clearly labeled dietary options at all catered events. We usually have vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options available.

For all event related needs or concerns, please contact someone on our Events Team at [email protected] or call our Event Specialist at 617-384-0596. Thank you.

Past Events

Sep 16, 2014 @ 12:30 PM

Drone Warfare and the Public Imagination

John Kaag, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Massachusetts Lowell

In 2012, U.S. drone strikes occurred most often in which nation? If you don’t know, don’t feel too bad. You’re not alone. You could just admit it and join the 27 percent of…

Sep 15, 2014 @ 7:00 PM

Cyberlaw Pub Trivia: A Joint EFF / Berkman Center Event

at the Harvard Law Pub

Please join us for a special edition of the Electronic Frontier Foundation's CyberLaw Pub Trivia Night -- held in collaboration with the Berkman Center for Internet & Society as…

Sep 11, 2014 @ 5:30 PM

Berkman's Digital Problem-Solving Initiative (DPSI) Kickoff

at the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Please join the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University for the kickoff of the 2014-2015 Digital Problem-Solving Initiative.

Sep 10, 2014 @ 4:30 PM

Berkman Center 2014-2015 Orientation: Research Showcase

at Harvard Law School

Select Berkman projects will be present with information about their projects' current activities. In addition to the project tabling, there will be space and opportunity to…

Sep 9, 2014 @ 12:30 PM

Berkman Center 2014-2015 Orientation: Tuesday Luncheon

Learn more about the Berkman Center for Internet & Society and join our community

Learn more about the Berkman Center for Internet & Society -- and its network of researchers, activists, faculty, students, technologists, entrepreneurs, artists, policy makers,…

Sep 4, 2014 @ 8:45 PM

Berkman Center 2014-2015 Orientation: Internet Policy Symposium

w/ Harvard's Institute of Politics and The Internet Association at the Harvard Kennedy School

Join us for the Internet Policy Conference hosted by Harvard University's Institute of Politics, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, and The Internet…

Jul 29, 2014 @ 12:30 PM

Democratizing Ideologies and Inequality Regimes in Digital Domains

Tressie (McMillan) Cottom, Microsoft Research & PhD Student, Sociology, Emory University

How do we map and measure inequality in digital domains?" "What does the social in 'social media' mean for sociology?

Jul 22, 2014 @ 12:30 PM

Uncovering Algorithms: Looking Inside the Facebook News Feed

Christian Sandvig, University of Michigan; Karrie G. Karahalios, University of Illinois; and Cedric Langbort, University of Illinois

The Facebook news feed algorithm organizes your online life, but it’s a secret. Can we make sense of it from the outside?

Jul 8, 2014 @ 12:30 PM

w4m: The End of the American Red Light District

with Journalist and author, Melissa Gira Grant

Who invented the red light district? Journalist and author Melissa Gira Grant reconsiders how communication technologies shape sex-for-sale.

Jul 1, 2014 @ 12:30 PM

MOOCs and the Science of Learning

with Berkman Fellow, Justin Reich

This talk will examine current trends and future directions in research into online learning in large-scale settings.

Jun 24, 2014 @ 12:30 PM

(In)Security in Home Embedded Devices

Jim Gettys

We now wander in Best Buy, Lowes and on Amazon and buy all sorts of devices from thermostats, hi-fi gear, tablets, phones, and laptops or desktops as well as home routers to build…

Jun 17, 2014 @ 12:30 PM

Going Home? The immigrant experience through film

Dino Sossi, Berkman Fellow

The documentary film Home focuses on Victor Sossi, a European immigrant who has lived in North America for several decades. His nephew Dino traveled to Europe to discover the…

Jun 11, 2014 @ 4:00 PM

Cyberscholar Working Group at Yale

This month's presentations include (1) "Five Algorithmic Cultures and Their Ontologies: A Performative Critique" with Esteve Sanz; (2) Social Patterns of Digital Thanks,…

Event
Jun 10, 2014 @ 12:30 PM

Caring for Audiences: Building Communities, Design, and Social Movements

Ivan Sigal, Berkman Fellow

What we call the caring problem for audiences is not a determined fact, but also of building communities, language choices, design, and social media tactics.

Jun 4, 2014 @ 2:30 PM

Jonathan Zittrain and L. Gordon Crovitz Debate the Future of Internet Governance

Join Professor Jonathan Zittrain and Wall Street Journal Columnist Gordon Crovitz in a Google Hangout debate on the impact of ICANN's independence on the Internet and its role in…

Event
Jun 3, 2014 @ 12:30 PM

Framing the Law & Policy Picture: A Snapshot of K-12 Cloud-Based Ed Tech & Student Privacy in Early 2014

Leah Plunkett, Alicia Solow-Niederman, and Urs Gasser

The Berkman Center’s Student Privacy Initiative team presents a snapshot of K-12 cloud-based ed tech and student privacy in early 2014 before turning to pragmatic law and policy…

May 27, 2014 @ 12:30 PM

Post Arab Revolutions: What Social Media is telling us

Dalia Othman, Berkman Fellow

Berkman Fellow Dalia Othman will take an in-depth look at how Arabs are communicating with each other through an analysis of the Arab Blogosphere and Twitter.

May 20, 2014 @ 6:00 PM

Book Launch: The Social Machine

Judith Donath, Berkman Center Fellow

Computers were first conceived as “thinking machines,” but in the twenty-first century they have become social machines, online places where people meet friends, play games, and…

May 20, 2014 @ 12:30 PM

You, me, and my computer

with Lauren McCarthy, artist and programmer

Can we use technology to help us be more human? What if a computer could understand and make decisions about our social relationships better than we could ourselves?

May 13, 2014 @ 12:30 PM

Does Size Matter? A Tale of Performing Welfare, Producing Bodies and Faking Identity

Malavika Jayaram, Berkman Fellow

By offering a perspective that is somewhat different from the traditional western focus of privacy, Malavika Jayaram hopes to generate a more inclusive discourse about what it…