Speakers and programs in subjects from the natural sciences to film are part of the 2011-2012 Penn Humanities Forum (PHF) on Adaptations. Since 1999, the PHF has focused its lecture series and scholarly programs on annual topics, which have included Human Nature, Word & Image and Origins. This year’s topic on Adaptation kicks off with an all-student, Penn Theatre Arts production of “Look/Alive,” in which classic tales from Ovid, Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson have been adapted to the contemporary stage. Performances run at 7 p.m. on Sept. 15 through 17; tickets are $7 and $5 with a Penncard.

Other events include a lecture on Sept. 21 from Penn Senior Lecturer in English Paul Hendrickson on “Hemingway’s Boat”; a talk from science writer Olivia Judson on “Time Travel Safari: Adventures in the History of Life” on Oct. 19; a talk on Nov. 2 from Penn Professor of Biology Dorothy Cheney and Penn Professor of Psychology Robert Seyfarth on “The Social Knowledge of Monkeys and Apes”; and a lecture on Nov. 30 from David Harvey, professor of geography and anthropology at City College of New York, on “The End of Capitalism?”

For a complete list of events, go to www.phf.upenn.edu.