2026 Humanities Institute Distinguished Lecture: Attensity Now! The Revolution Rises Against Human Fracking with D. Graham Burnett

A major university and community event, the annual Humanities Institute Distinguished Lecture program brings to campus a prominent humanities scholar whose work highlights the importance of humanities research.

Do you feel like your attention span is depleting? Don't miss this conversation around what D. Graham Burnett and friends describe as the commodification of human attention, or "human fracking," and discover the tools we need to reclaim our attention spans — and humanity. Expand your mind to reframe how you utilize attention to connect with curiosity, care and play in your own life.

A co-founder and faculty member in the Strother School of Radical Attention, Burnett will also discuss his forthcoming book, Attensity! A Manifesto of the Attention Liberation Movement, which was produced in collaboration with The Friends of Attention, including editors and long-standing “Friends,” Alyssa Loh and Peter Schmidt.

Burnett is an American historian of science and a writer. He is a professor at Princeton University and an editor at Cabinet, based in Brooklyn, New York. 

Please note the event times below.

4 – 5 p.m. | Pre-event reception, book sale and book signing

5 – 6 p.m. | Distinguished Lecture

The event will be livestreamed on ASU Live for virtual audiences.

For a full listing of Humanities Institute events, visit our events page.