Campus Humanities Calendar

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Monday, April 7, 2025

    • 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
    • 325 Temple Buell Hall (611 E. Taft Drive, Champaign)

    Work-in-progress talk and paper: “Little Tech on the Prairie" by Matthew Darmour-Paul, PhD candidate in Sociology at Australian National University and tutor in architecture at the University of Sydney. His research explores place-based computational practices and techno-nationalism in the American Midwest.

    • 4:00 pm

    Dr. Maritza Paredes, Sociology Professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, will discuss the complexities of extractive frontier expansion and its intersection with global climate change policies in conservation areas, particularly within indigenous communities. Her research explores the redistributive and justice dimensions of these processes, shedding light...

    • 5:15 - 6:45 pm
    • Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center, 1212 W. Nevada Street, Urbana

    This panel will feature Karen Flynn (Terrance & Karyn Holm Endowed Professor, UIC); Julie A. Pryde (C-U Public Health District Administrator); Lauren R. Aronson (Clinical Professor of Law and Immigration Law Clinic Director); and Jessica R. Greenberg (Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director of EUC).

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

    • 12:00 pm
    • English Building 109 (608 S Wright St, Urbana, IL 61801)

    Between the late 1920s and mid-1960s, several Jewish social scientists and humanities scholars laid the theoretical groundwork for ethnic and immigration studies in the United States. The concepts these scholars developed – terms such as acculturation, urbanism, assimilation, and cultural pluralism – reshaped the understanding of America as a pluralist society of...

    • 12:15 - 1:15 pm
    • 22 Education Building

    The Third Wave of the Asian American Studies Movement: Advocating for & Advancing Asian American Studies in K-12 Classrooms

    • 3:00 - 5:00 pm
    • School of Information Sciences, 614 East Daniel St., Champaign IL, Multipurpose Room 4045 on the 4th floor

    We welcome you to join us at the iSchool for an in-person panel discussion and informal reception on Tuesday April 8th. Critical data studies takes on one of the most important issues facing society today: how do we build secure, accessible and equitable information infrastructures to support our communities? Join us for a conversation on the concepts, sites of study...

    • 4:00 - 5:30 pm
    • LAS Hub in Lincoln Hall

    Join We CU Community Engaged Scholars & the Career Center to learn how you can translate your volunteer experience into a powerful resume or CV.

    • 4:00 pm
    • Levis Faculty Center, Room 210

    Dr. Bryce Henson is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication & Journalism and an Africana Studies Program Affiliate at Texas A&M University.

    • 5:00 pm
    • Illini Union, Room 314A (1401 W Green St, Urbana, IL 61801)

    This will be a conversation with Tobias Brinkmann about his recent book, Between Borders: The Great Jewish Migration from Eastern Europe. It tells and contextualizes the stories of Jewish migrants and refugees from Eastern and Central Europe before and after the First World War. It explains how immigration laws in countries such as the United States influenced migration...

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

    • 3:30 pm
    • Gregory Hall 100

    Please join us for a lecture by Herman von Hesse, an assistant professor of art history, titled "Love of Stone Houses: Anxious Transformations, Collateralized Ancestral Spaces and the Ambivalence of Security on the Gold Coast."

    • 5:30 pm
    • Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum of World Cultures (600 S. Gregory St., Urbana, IL)

    Join us for a free screening of Queendom (2023), followed by a discussion with producer Igor Myakotin. This documentary follows Jenna, a queer artist in Russia, who stages radical public performances to challenge perceptions of beauty and queerness while protesting government oppression. Myakotin, an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, brings this powerful story to the screen.

Thursday, April 10, 2025

    • 12:00 - 1:00 pm
    • University Archives (room 146, Main Library) or via Zoom

    Dr. Winful, a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Anthropology and a participant in the DRIVE Illinois Distinguished Postdoctoral Program, will discuss her research on the biological mechanisms linking stress to health, with a focus on inflammation.

    • 1:00 - 2:00 pm

    Attendees will become familiar with the differences between a dissertation and first book manuscript, and will further learn about identifying points of revision, creating a revision plan/timeline, approaching editors/presses, writing a book proposal, and the publishing process at a glance.

    • 4:00 pm
    • Lincoln Hall 702 S. Wright St. Urbana Room 1090

    The book explores how the centrality of sonic practices and experiences within Islamic traditions stems largely from the orality of the Qur’an and the importance of recitation, while arguing that sound can provide a productive point of entry to human cultures in general.

    • 4:00 pm
    • Lincoln Hall, Room 1002; 702 S Wright St., Urbana, IL 61801

    The Department of Asian American Studies welcomes Dr. Nayan Shah, Professor of American Studies & Ethnicity and History at the University of Southern California to present his talk "Mutual Aid and Resisting Carceral Power: Asian American Strategies".

    • 5:30 - 7:00 pm
    • Krannert Art Museum, 500 E. Peabody Dr., Champaign

    Celebrate the exhibition opening of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR): Red Regalia Project created with Chicago-based Native artist Angel Starr (Omaha, Odawa, Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota) to call attention to violence against Indigenous Peoples. Part of the 2024–2025 Native North American Art Residency...

    • 6:00 - 7:30 pm
    • Krannert Art Museum, 500 E. Peabody Dr., Champaign

    SPEAK stands for Song, Poetry, Art, and Knowledge. It’s an open-mic public performance space at Krannert Art Museum curated by local artist, Shaya Robinson, featuring guest performers and welcoming all to the mic.

Friday, April 11, 2025

    • 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
    • Main Quad

    The Center for Children's Books will be hosting a mini-book sale in the Main Quad consisting of Young Adult (YA) books! Funds will be used to support CCB staff and programs. This will be a touchless/card only sale. This book sale is open to all students of UIUC.

    • 12:00 - 1:30 pm
    • 306 Coble Hall, 801 S. Wright Street

    Calling all graduate students, how fast can you present your research? Join this event to meet other Illinois graduate students and share your research in 3 minutes or less. Light lunch available for all registered participants. Registration is Required at https://go.illinois.edu/LightningTalk25

    • 3:00 - 5:00 pm
    • Lincoln Hall 1002 or on Zoom

    Join us for a lecture titled "A Constructivist Account of Care Ethics" by Sarah Clark Miller, an associate professor of philosophy, bioethics, and women's gender, and sexuality studies at Pennsylvania State University.

Monday, April 14, 2025

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

    • 1:30 - 3:00 pm
    • 306 Coble Hall, 801 S Wright St, Champaign

    After a delayed impeachment process lasting over three months, South Korea faces a critical juncture. The Constitutional Court’s ruling on Yoon’s impeachment will be a decisive moment, shaping the trajectory of South Korean democracy or exposing systemic vulnerabilities. In this roundtable, four Korean experts from UIUC will discuss the ongoing political turmoil and...

    • 3:00 pm
    • 3019 Huff Hall

    The Interdisciplinary Sport Studies Research Cluster is pleased to host Dr. Letisha Brown, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Brown will give a guest talk on her upcoming book titled, Say Her Name: Centering Black Feminism and Black Women in Sport, with Rutgers University Press

    • 4:00 - 5:30 pm
    • Illini Union Bookstore, Author's Corner, 2nd Floor

    Please join us to celebrate the book launch of LLS professor, Aja Y. Martinez's new book The Origins of Critical Race Theory: The People and Ideas That Created a Movement, co-authored with Robert O. Smith (University of North Texas). The book weaves together the many sources of critical race theory, recounting the origin story for one of the most insightful and...

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

  • Ross Gay's headshot
    • 12:00 pm
    • Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center (1212 W Nevada St., Urbana)

    Free lunch and informal talk for undergraduates of any major. With poet and essayist Ross Gay.

    • 5:30 pm
    • Campus Instructional Facility, Room 3025

    Join us for a lecture in the Illinois Forum on Human Flourishing in a Digital Age Speaker Series with Christine Rosen. Her lecture "Defending the Human in a Technological World" will explore what it means to be human in a world that promises near-endless opportunities for virtual, disembodied experience.

  • Ross Gay's headshot
    • 7:30 pm
    • Alice Campbell Alumni Center BallRoom

    A public reading and book signing with award-winning poet and essayist Ross Gay.

Thursday, April 17, 2025

Friday, April 18, 2025

    • 12:00 pm
    • 0359 Music Building (1114 W. Nevada St., Urbana, IL 61801)

    Join us for a lecture by ethnomusicologist Olga Zaitseva-Herz on the role of music in Russia’s war on Ukraine. She explores how state-controlled and grassroots music scenes shape the war’s political and social dynamics. A postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alberta, Zaitseva-Herz examines music as a tool of resistance, diplomacy, and identity.

  • John Norton
    • 3:00 - 5:00 pm
    • Lincoln Hall 1002

    Join the Department of Philosophy for a lecture with John D. Norton, a distinguished professor at the University of Pittsburgh. His lecture "How the material theory of induction dissolves the problem of induction" will explore Hume's problem of induction and argues that attempts to revive the problem within material theory fail.

Saturday, April 19, 2025

    • 1:00 - 2:00 pm
    • Knight Auditorium at Spurlock Museum (600 S Gregory St, Urbana, IL 61801)

    At Spurlock Museum in the Knight Auditorium, Japan House is pleased to welcome Japanese calligrapher Seiran Chiba for a performance and lecture. Chiba's performance will be interactive with the audience and features musical accompaniment from Ho Etsu Taiko. Doors to the Knight Auditorium will open at 12:45PM. Registration is strongly recommended and seating is first-come..

    • 2:00 - 4:00 pm
    • Central Core Gallery at Spurlock Museum (600 S Gregory St, Urbana, IL 61801)

    Japan House is pleased to partner with the Spurlock Museum to feature the exhibition opening of Kogei: Traditional Japanese Arts and Crafts of Fukushima, Japan. The reception and artist meet and greet features Fukushima artists Seiran Chiba, Akie Hashimoto, and Ayako Hirai. There will be light refreshments served and visitors can mingle with the artists and view their...

Monday, April 21, 2025

    • 12:00 - 1:50 pm
    • School of Labor and Employment Relations, Room 51, 504 E Armory Street

    Scholarly interest in British Black Power has grown over the last decade with the movement increasingly situated as a key conjuncture in modern British history and an important site in the global history of Black Power. Yet there is still more to know about how Black Power operated at the grassroots in communities across Britain.

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

    • 5:30 pm
    • Campus Instructional Facility, Room 4025

    Join us for a lecture in the Illinois Forum on Human Flourishing in a Digital Age Speaker Series with Paul Scherz. His talk will examine the emerging field of precision medicine, which uses AI to identify risk factors, and will explore the effects an intensive focus on risk has on medicine, doctors, and patients. He will also suggests ways to implement AI that avoids...

    • 7:30 pm
    • Krannert Center, 500 S. Goodwin Ave, Urbana

    In this evocative conversation, MacArthur Fellow and award-winning artist Taylor Mac—a playwright, actor, songwriter, performance artist, director, and producer whose epic performance work, A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, was nominated for a 2017 Pulitzer Prize...

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

    • 5:00 pm
    • Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory

    Darius and Catherine Brubeck discuss their pioneering jazz curriculum and performance program developed in apartheid-era South Africa that brought black and white musicians together to create a soundtrack to the freedom struggle and its aftermath. South African jazz scholar and performer Colin Miller joins this conversation.

Thursday, April 24, 2025

    • 5:00 pm
    • Siebel Design Center

    Photographers Ara Oshagan and Levon Parian will present a two-part art exhibit from their iWitness project at the Siebel Design Center in the spring culminating in a moderated talk at 5pm on April 24th at the Siebel Center.

    • 5:00 pm
    • Lobby/Stage 5, Krannert Center, 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801

    Internationally known jazz pianist Darius Brubeck is joined on stage by University of Illinois students Adib Young (sax), Emma Taylor (bass) and Max Osawa (drums) in a two-set performance that showcases a wide range of jazz styles and offers the audience a chance to hear how jazz music has a universal connection and longevity.

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

    • 12:00 pm
    • 1064 Lincoln Hall or Virtual

    Join the LAS Office of Research to learn more about grant support for faculty researchers in LAS. Our team will share information on pre-award services, such as budgeting, document review, and preparing for submission to SPA. This session will be particularly helpful for faculty without access to dedicated unit-based grant support staff.

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

    • 12:00 - 1:00 pm
    • University Archives (room 146, Main Library) or via Zoom

    Jennifer Teper, Head of Preservation Services at the University of Illinois Library, will discuss how she uses science in her work to conserve library collections and special collections.

Thursday, May 8, 2025