The John Dewey lecture is held annually by the Ginsberg Center in commemoration of Dewey's impact on American education through his writings on the role of experience in learning and problem-solving. The Dewey Lecture highlights the work of current scholar-activists by featuring nationally known figures engaged in public scholarship.

Anne M. Valk, associate director for programs of the John Nicholas Brown Center at Brown University, will discuss how her research in oral history and public humanities leads to new understanding of two concepts that are at the heart of much civic engagement - community and collaboration. Practitioners of civic engagement often evoke these concepts as ideals or in a manner that simplifies the complexity of each term. But turning attention to both the process and products of the historical research endeavor reveals new ways to think about these concepts and fresh approaches to understanding the outcomes of engaged research. Valk's discussion will draw from work that she has done as an oral historian with an interest in neighborhoods and local histories, including a recent project that she has been working on in Providence, Rhode Island.