What if advances in technology were already changing the causal logic of human reproduction which is now taken for granted? Could pregnancy shift from an event which some opt out of through prevention or termination, to an intentional, elective choice? How should such a system work, and what would be its likely consequences? These questions comprise the “Opt-In Conjecture” by University of Utah Distinguished Professor of Philosophy Margaret Pabst Battin, whose book, Sex and the Planet: What Opt-In Reproduction Could Do for the Globe was published by MIT Press this year. Battin, who goes by Peggy, discussed her work with David Turok (Obstetrics and Gynecology) and James Tabery (Philosophy) in a Tanner Talk on November 7. In her book and her discussion, Battin explores the philosophical and ethical implications of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC).

The works of Percival Everett, Distinguished Professor at the University of Southern California, feature satirical and ironic accounts of race in American life, experiments in literary form, and philosophically rich reconsiderations of historical periods and events. His 2024 novel, James, retells the story of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of the enslaved character, Jim. James has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the National Book Award. The Tanner Conversation with Everett on October 29th in Kingsbury Hall with Jeremy Rosen and Rone Shavers (Department of English) was followed by dialogues with two cohorts of students: graduate students in Utah’s English and Creative Writing programs, and high school students from Rowland Hall school, who had read both James and Huckleberry Finn in their classes.

Now in its second year at the University of Utah, Great Books in the Humanities introduces first-year students to foundational literary and philosophical works from across world civilizations, alongside recent scholarship that deepens our understanding of enduring questions. At an evening reception at the Fort Douglas Commander’s House on October 16, campus and community members gathered to hear from this year’s Great Books faculty about their books and their approaches to teaching them to students.