Author and cultural critic Roxane Gay addressed an audience of students, faculty and community members at Chapman University on Sept. 25. The event kicked off Engaging the World, the signature lecture series presented by Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, which this year is addressing the theme of gender and sexuality.

Gay, Ph.D., rose to prominence in 2014 with the publication of her collection of essays, “Bad Feminist,” and her body of work includes novels, short stories, Marvel comics and the memoir “Hunger.” Her most recent publication is “Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People’s Business.” She holds the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University.

“I’m a realist who longs for a better world for as many people as possible,” said Gay, seated comfortably on a sofa on the main stage of Musco Center for the Arts. She spoke about her experience as a public figure who is often targeted with hostility by people who dislike her ideas.

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