The US at 250
Global 250 Lecture Series
As part of a yearlong celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the Kinder Institute will host a series of lectures that reflect on this national milestone from a global perspective. The Global 250 lecture series will kick off in October, with remarks by former South African Constitutional Court Judge Albie Saches, before resuming in January and continuing through the Spring 2026 semester with at least one lecture per month, wrapping up with Kinder Institute Senior Fellow Lawrence Goldman delivering comments on the semiquincentennial from the perspective of the UK.
RSVP links for each lecture will be provided in the brief snapshots below and visit our “Events” page for more detailed descriptions of the talks.
10/14: "THE US AT 250 FROM SOUTH AFRICA," WITH ALBIE SACHS
Providing a preview of what’s to come in spring, prominent lawyer and anti-Apartheid activist Albie Sachs will visit Columbia to consider the US at 250 from the perspective of South Africa and through the lens of his role in the broader cause to defend justice around the globe.
The talk will be held on October 14 at 5pm at the State Historical Society of Missouri, with a reception to follow.
SPRING 2026 SPEAKERS
While we’re still collecting abstracts from speakers and finalizing details about dates, times, and locations, the following scholars of political history and comparative politics have signed on to deliver talks as part of the Global 250 series.
January: Tamson Pietsch, Director of the Australian Centre for Public History at University of Technology Sydney, and Mario Del Paro, professor at the Centre for History at Paris’ SciencesPo
February: Erika Pani, research professor at Centro de Estudios Históricos, El Colegio de México, and Eliza Reid, author of Secret of the Sprakkar: Iceland’s Extraordinary Woman and How They Are Changing the World
March: Sayuri Shimizu, Dunlevie Family Chair in History at Rice University
April: Brandon Park, associate professor at Chung-Ang University in Seoul, and Kinder Institute Director Jay Sexton
May: Lawrence Goldman, Kinder Institute Senior Fellow and St. Peter’s College (Oxford) Emeritus Fellow in History