Conversations That Matter is a series of public programs that builds on the innovative but often-specialized work that takes place in the studies, studios, lecture hall, library, and auditorium of the American Academy in Rome. The series invites participants to communicate the general relevancy of their work to an audience that reaches beyond the scholarly and artistic fields of the American Academy. The aim of the program is to engage a diverse external audience in the Academy’s ongoing scholarly and creative dialogue.

The topic for this seventh installment of the series Conversations That Matter is "Arms in America: Gun Violence in the United States in a Global Perspective." American Academy Director Christopher S. Celenza, FAAR’94 will introduce New Yorker writer and Harvard Professor Jill Lepore, who will address issues on gun violence, gun lobbies and the 2nd Amendment in the United States and the United States' role as a global military power. The audience will be asked to participate in the ensuing discussion.

Jill Lepore is David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History, Harvard College Professor, and chair of Harvard's History and Literature Program at Harvard University. She is also a staff writer at The New Yorker. Lepore's research focuses on the histories of war and violence and of language and literacy.

The principal language of the discussion will be English. Simultaneous translation into Italian will be available. Seating on a first-come, first-served basis. A reception will follow.