Kennedy's lectures are part of the 1999 Tanner Lectures in Human Values, established at nine institutions and administered by the University of Utah. His visit is co-sponsored by the Program in Ethics and Society. Kennedy said his lectures will focus on various controversies arising from the use of the word.
Most people view it as a racial epithet or insult, and it is.
Kennedy noted that filmmaker Quentin Tarantino has been criticized for what some view as excessive use of the word in his films. Kennedy's second lecture will begin with a look at the O.J. Simpson trial. It's certainly one of the most prestigious lectureships there is. Kennedy will deliver Parts I and II of his lecture at 8 p.m. tonight and Wednesday, April 28, in Building 320, Room 105. The discussants for these sessions will be Kathleen Sullivan, the Stanley Morrison Professor of Law and dean-elect of Stanford Law School, and Sanford V. Levinson, the W. St. John Garwood and W. St. John Garwood Jr. Centennial Chair in Law and professor in government at the University of Texas at Austin.