Amartya Sen, the winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize for Economics, has been called the "Mother Teresa of Economics" for his research into fundamental problems in welfare and economics. Currently a professor of economics and philosophy at Harvard University, Sen will speak on identity and violence for the Graduate School's Hitchcock Lectures series: "The Violence of Illusion" on March 2, and "Making Sense of Identity" on March 3.

Sen is recognized worldwide for his invaluable contributions to research on fundamental problems in economics and philosophy. His theoretical and empirical work encompasses a range of issues, from famine and poverty to social choice theory, decision theory, and the demands of rationality and freedom. The United Nations Human Development Index, which he helped create ("with considerable reluctance," Sen says), is the most used index of welfare comparisons between countries. His numerous books include "Collective Choice and Social Welfare" (1970), "On Economic Inequality" (1973), "Development as Freedom" (1999), and "Rationality and Freedom" (2002).

For more on this and other Hitchcock Lectures, visit the Graduate School's website for the series.