Annual Larkin-Stuart Lectures

The Larkin-Stuart Lectures, endowed in 1969, are co-sponsored by Trinity College and St. Thomas's Anglican Church. Among the most prestigious given on the University of Toronto campus, the lectures vary in topic, but all are based broadly on the subject of theology. The list of lecturers is long and distinguished and includes Robertson Davies, Northrop Frye, P.D. James, Michael Ignatieff, Father Owen Lee, Burton Mack, Rabbi Dow Marmur, Atom Egoyan, Charles Taylor, Mark Kingwell, David Halton,and the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury.

The lectures are named for Gerald Larkin, the College's most generous benefactor, who died in 1961, and Canon Cecil Stuart, longtime former Rector of St. Thomas's Church, who died in 1966.

For more details and a complete list of archived Larkin-Stuart Lectures, click here.

2011 Lectures

Justice, Justice, Shalt Thou Pursue: The International Criminal Court and the Return of Universal Law

This year's lecture series explores the enduring political tension between the perceived entitlements of great power versus the rule of law, a foundational debate first articulated by the ancient Greeks more than 2,000 years ago. The surprising birth of the International Criminal Court at the end of the 20th century – the world's first permanent tribunal with a mandate to seek accountability by prosecuting the perpetrators of crimes against humanity – elevated global law over politics. Can it survive in a world where power has historically trumped justice? Should it survive?

Erna Paris is the author of seven works of literary non-fiction and the winner of ten national and international awards for her books, feature writing and radio documentaries. Her books have been published in fourteen countries and translated into eight languages. In 2005, Long Shadows: Truth, Lies, and History was chosen by the Literary Review of Canada as one of the 100 most important books ever written in Canada. It won the Pearson Writers' Trust Non-Fiction Prize, the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing and the Canadian Jewish Book Award for History. Her most recent work, The Sun Climbs Slow: The International Criminal Court and the Struggle for Justice, was the inspiration for a new documentary, Prosecutor, co-produced by White Pine Pictures and the National Film Board. Erna Paris is a member of the Honorary Council of the Canadian Centre for International Justice and the immediate past chair of the Writers' Union of Canada.

Order your free tickets through the church office. Space is limited.

Location: George Ignatieff Theatre, 15 Devonshire Place, Trinity College, University of Toronto