Lawrence Lessig delivers inaugural Berlin Family Lectures

November 20, 2014

Lawrence Lessig delivered the inaugural Berlin Family Lectures October 16 - November 13, 2014. In a series entitled "America: Compromised," Lessig explored the application of institutional corruption to a wide range of public institutions with the aim to establish both the distinctiveness of the conception and its particular relevance to modern American life. The conception of institutional corruption, he argues, shows the need for a different perspective on the idea of institutional ethics – on focused less on the behavior of good or bad souls, and more on the consequences of institutional design.

The Randy L. and Melvin R. Berlin Family Lectures at the University of Chicago, established in 2014, brings to campus individuals who are making fundamental contributions to the arts, humanities, and humanistic social sciences. Each visitor gives an extended series of lectures with the aim of interacting with the university community and developing a book for publication with the University of Chicago Press.

You can watch video of Professor Lessig's five lectures – on institutional corruption in Congress, finance, media, the academy and possible remedies – here.