Paul Theroux, travel writer and novelist, explains how Jack London's experiences and observations in the Hawaiian Islands still resonate today, based on Theroux's own experiences and observation as a 30-year resident there.

Tom Ford, fashion designer and filmmaker, discusses the making of his 2009 film, A Single Man, based on Christopher Isherwood's semi-autobiographical novel, published in 1964. Isherwood's archive, including the manuscript of the novel, is part of The Huntington's literary collections.

Gary W. Gallagher, the John L. Nau III Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Virginia, explores how popular and academic understandings of the Civil War align with, or depart from, the reality of the conflict.

Glenn Webb, professor emeritus at Pepperdine University, discusses the globalization of the Japanese tea ceremony in the decades following World War II. Webb's lecture inaugurates the Dr. Genshitsu Sen Lecture Series, which focuses on Japanese tea culture.

Chinese theater-maker Stan Lai (Lai Sheng-chuan 賴聲川) discusses the origins and evolution of Nightwalk in the Chinese Garden, his new, site-specific production for The Huntington. The play is the culmination of Lai's residency at The Huntington as the 2018 Cheng Family Visiting Artist and is developed and produced by the CalArts Center for New Performance.

This interdisciplinary conference focuses on the transatlantic dynamics of food and power in the long 18th century. Historians, historical geographers, and literary scholars will assess the significant role of food in shaping interpersonal and geopolitical relations during this period, focusing in particular on the perceived and real impact of scarcity and social unrest.

The Civil War witnessed a number of critical turning points. Major battles, the Emancipation Proclamation, the election of 1864, and the New York City draft riots represent the kinds of military, political, and social events that could signal a profound shift in the conflict's direction or momentum. Speakers address the range, and potential for disagreement, inherent in any search for historical turning points.

Leading experts on 18th and 19th-century theatre explore the implications of statutory theatre censorship as Britain grappled with issues of modernity, race, gender, and religion during a period of imperial expansion and conflict.