Michael Clune, the Samuel B. and Virginia C. Knight professor of humanities in the Department of English, will present a lecture titled “What are Dreams For?” Monday, April 4, at 5 p.m. in Tinkham Veale University Center Ballroom A.
Clune investigates the new field of dream engineering to explore the relation between our private dream lives and the world of public discourse. In the summer of 2021, dream researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) sent him a prototype of their new device, which allows individuals to “incubate” dream material and to shape their dreams. His exploration of the compulsive creativity of the dreaming mind suggests insights into the process of creation, the dreamworld of internet culture, and the fear of the untrammelled creativity embodied by dreams. Clune recently reflected on this experience in an article published by Harper’s Magazine.
Clune is recipient of the 2022 Baker-Nord Center Award for Distinguished Scholarship in the Humanities, which recognizes the outstanding scholarship of Case Western Reserve University faculty in the humanities and their contribution to the university’s reputation.
This event is part of the 2022 Cleveland Humanities Festival (CHF)—”Discourse.”
Register if attending in-person. This lecture will also be live-streamed at case.edu/livestream/s1.