Join the U-M Department of Anthropology for the annual Roy A. Rappaport Lecture Series! Associate Professor Matthew Hull will present the fall 2026 series, titled “Incorporations: Capitalism and Collective Life.”

Abstract: “Corporations are often seen as economic actors, but they have been central to Anglo-American governance for centuries—pioneers of democratic assembly, speech, citizenship, and constitutions. Many features of corporations, once grounded in democratic ideals, now foster the unresponsiveness of these institutions. These lectures will include discussion of a diverse array of corporations: medieval guilds, the English East India Company, Alaska Native corporations, and caste-based corporations in India.”

Rappaport lectures will take place on the following fall Fridays from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in West Hall Room 411. They are free and open to the public:

Friday, Sept. 25
“Corporate Persons in Human Law: Reproduction, Kinship, Jurisdiction”

Friday, Oct. 23
“Freedom and Citizenship: Corporate Membership and the Making of Exclusion”

Friday, Nov. 13
“Meetings and Speech: Corporate Mediations of Will”

Friday, Dec. 4
“Sharing and Inequality in Corporations”

VIRTUAL PARTICIPATION LINK: Coming fall 2026!

If you need accommodations to attend, please email anthro.exec.secretary@umich.edu.