The first annual Spiegel Symposium comes to Penn March 17 to 18, complete with lectures, films and panel discussions on art and culture, all in conjunction with the ongoing Barry Le Va exhibition at the ICA, 118 S. 36th St. The symposium, titled “Resistance,” will explore that theme—from protests to punk rock—in the culture and politics of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Highlights include a lecture by Le Va, Bykert Gallery founder Klaus Kertess and a keynote address on March 18 by cultural critic Greil Marcus. For a complete list of panel discussions and speakers, go to www.icaphila.org or call 215-898-5911.

Twenty-four scholars compare and contrast two of the world’s greatest tomb-building civilizations in the symposium, “Life and Death in Ancient China and Ancient Egypt,” on March 18 from 1 to 6 p.m. and on March 19 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Penn Museum. Speakers will investigate issues such as why the Egyptian pharaohs placed sphinxes near their temples and why the Chinese emperors lined the approaches to their tombs with monumental mythological creatures. For information, call 215-898-4890 or go to www.museum.upenn.edu. $100 for non-members; $75 for members.