Lecture Series
Renard Lecture Series
Select Mondays, 10:00–11:30 am (unless otherwise noted)
FREE for Members, $10 Non-members
The Renard Lecture Series is made possible in part by a grant from the Henry H. Renard Foundation, sponsors, and program participants.
Musical concerts and first-person accounts are combined with traditional lectures by scholars and experts in their fields. Presenters offer stimulating, informative, engaging, and unique insights into music, literature, art, history, sports, take-out film, archeology, and pop culture, and more. The series is open to all and geared toward people 50 years of age and older seeking a cultural and intellectual experience. Join us once or participate in all!
Jewish Life Lectures & Discussions
See upcoming dates, topics, and speakers on the Learning & Conversations page.
Foreign Affairs Discussion Group
Join international economist David Cheney to discuss pressing international relations issues of our time.
See calendar above for upcoming dates!
92NY Live
Experience streamed world-class events happening on the stage of the 92nd Street Y without the commute! You’ll have the opportunity to enjoy cutting edge talks, performances, and concerts covering the latest in arts, entertainment, science, music, and more. We will view a 92NY Live event together as a community once a month, as well as have access to select broadcasts from their archives. See upcoming events and on-demand selections.
JCC U: Blockbuster Art Exhibitions of 2025
Members: $25; non-members: $36 for entire series
Are you a lifelong learner? Come take part in JCC U, our new lecture series that covers topics in art, science, and the humanities.
JCC U Great Modern Speeches: From Lincoln, JFK, and King to Reagan, Cuomo, and Obama
4 Thursdays, November 13–December 11 (no class 11/27); 1:00–2:30 pm
Why do some speeches make a difference and last forever while others backfire or are forgotten? This 4-session series explores the answers as we explore the content and context of powerful speeches by influential Americans including Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Jr., Martin Luther King, Jr, Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan, Walter Mondale, Mario Cuomo, and more. At home readings provide background on the speakers and the particular challenges they faced when making their speeches, as well as what happened after the speeches to shape their legacy. Throughout, we’ll unlock the secrets of research, ghostwriting, and rhetorical technique that produced some of the most moving spoken words in our history.
RegisterJCCU: Comparative African Modern Art
2 Tuesdays; January 6 and 13; 1:00–2:30 pm
Members: $15; non-members: $20 for the series (drop ins also welcome)
Art historian Serdar Arat is back with a two-part lecture series that looks at how African and African-diasporic artists helped shape modern art around the world. We’ll explore the Harlem Renaissance alongside European modernists to see how artists learned from one another and pushed new styles forward. We’ll also look at global traditions that inspired Western art in the 19th and 20th centuries. These talks offer an accessible, visually rich look at how cultures connect and influence each other through art.
January 6: “Sources of Modern Art”
January 11: “The Harlem Renaissance and Modernism”
