The College of Education invites you to attend "Teaching Hard Histories," a private screening of the movie “Origin” and panel discussion, on Monday, April 1, 2024, from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Emagine Royal Oak. The film is based on the book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson.

This event is made possible in part by funding from the Frederick C. Neff Endowed Memorial Lectureship in Philosophy and Education. The Neff Lectureship supports College of Education lectures that examine the moral nature of the educational system and the role of philosophy in solving educational problems. 

Neff joined the College of Education faculty at Wayne State in 1959 and was one of the most highly regarded philosophers of education in the country. He served as a professor for 21 years, including 12 years as chair of the Department of History and Philosophy of Education. 

The lectureship bearing his name was created in 1996 with a generous gift from Pauline Bergener ’32, M.Ed. ’44, a fellow educator and friend of Neff’s. Since then, the Neff Lectureship has brought leading thinkers to Wayne State to discuss numerous topics including positive psychology, the relationship between race and education, and more.