Research Seminars @ Illinois
Tailored for undergraduate researchers, this calendar is a curated list of research seminars at the University of Illinois. Explore the diverse world of research and expand your knowledge through engaging sessions designed to inspire and enlighten.
To have your events added or removed from this calendar, please contact OUR at ugresearch@illinois.edu
Monday, September 14, 2026
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Lecture Title: Soil that Remains Rebecca Choi, Assistant Professor, Tulane University
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Please join us for a talk by Prof. Neem, where he will examine the ideological challenges to scientific knowledge from both the left and right and their implications for the future of the American university.
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
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Please join the Unit for Criticism for a Modern Critical Theory lecture by Danielle Chynoweth (Supervisor, Cunningham Township) on Democracy.
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
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In 1968, Alejo Hernández, a resident of Stanislaus County, California, sued the USDA because the county failed to implement the Food Stamp Program.
Thursday, September 17, 2026
Sunday, September 20, 2026
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Culture wars, including battles over how history is taught in public schools, reflect deeper struggles over what it means to be American and what rights citizenship entails. These conflicts have shaped American political culture since the 1960s.
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
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Economic, Social, and Environmental Aspects of Conservation Agriculture in Brazil. Tiago Santos Telles is a Researcher at the Instituto de Desenvolvimento Rural do Paraná & a Professor at the Universidade Estadual de Londrina.
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Please join the Unit for Criticism for a Modern Critical Theory lecture by Jonathan Rosa (Education, Stanford) on Semiotics.
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
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Please join us for the first of 2 talks in the Center for Advanced Study Climate | Change Initiative's Victorian Culture and Climate Change series. Nathan Hensley (English, Georgetown U) will discuss how close attention to Victorian literature can recover a prehistory for the deeply felt sense of powerlessness many of us know all too well today.
Thursday, September 24, 2026
Friday, September 25, 2026
Monday, September 28, 2026
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Lake Flato: Innovation & Craft Andrew Herdeg, FAIA
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
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Please join the Unit for Criticism for a Modern Critical Theory lecture by Lisa Saltzman (History of Art, Bryn Mawr) on Walter Benjamin.
Wednesday, September 30, 2026
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Please join us for the second of 2 talks in the Center for Advanced Study Climate | Change Initiative's Victorian Culture and Climate Change series. Stephanie O'Rourke (Art History, U of St Andrews) discusses the relationship between new pictorial formats for representing landscapes and industrial mineral extraction in Victorian England.
Thursday, October 1, 2026
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Justin Jackson is a George A. Miller Visiting Scholar from the University of Massachusetts Amherst who is here to present his project titled "Occupying America: War and the Infrastructure of US Power in a Globalizing World" about America's complex relationship with occupation and globalization.
Friday, October 2, 2026
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The Psychology Department is excited to continue the First Friday Psychology-Beckman Colloquium Series for the 2026-2027 academic year, a monthly event designed to bring together members of the Department of Psychology, Beckman Institute, and beyond for engaging, cross-area conversations.
Monday, October 5, 2026
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
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This panel brings together scholars and experts to discuss key issues surrounding Brazil's electoral process. Participants will explore the political landscape, major campaign themes, and the broader implications of the election for Brazilian society and democracy.
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Please join the Unit for Criticism for a Modern Critical Theory lecture by Maryam Kashani (Gender & Women's Studies, UIUC) on Visual Theory.
Wednesday, October 7, 2026
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Time & Location TBD
Thursday, October 8, 2026
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Please join us for presentations by recent CAS Fellows. At 11am, Nicholas Jackson (Chemistry) discusses Designing Polymers in the AI Era and at noon, Stefan Vogler (Sociology) presents Police Consciousness and the Potential for Reform.
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“Staying with the Trouble of Preservation: The Ambivalent Politics of Deletion in Digital Societies.” Presented by Nanna Bonde Thylstrup (Art and Cultural Studies, University of Copenhagen).
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This inaugural event by the Borders of Sanctuary Working Collective presents a public facing panel that pairs Professor Willie Mack (Black Studies, University of Missouri) on Black migration with Devin Lowe from the Black Trans Travel Fund, which serves Black and Transgender migrants.
Friday, October 9, 2026
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This is a panel discussion with artists and scholars on Everett’s Erasure. Each panelist will provide a different window into what’s beyond Erasure or what reading Erasure inspires (broadly conceived).
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This is a panel discussion with artists and scholars on Everett’s "Erasure." Each panelist will provide a different window into what’s beyond Erasure or what reading Erasure inspires (broadly conceived).
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CAS Professor of Psychology Brent Roberts draws from the science of personality development to discuss the following questions: How important are my genes for my personality? What effect did my parents have on who I am? Does my personality matter for love, work, and health? And “am I stuck with my personality or can I change?" A reception follows this CAS Annual Lecture.
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
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Please join the Unit for Criticism for a Modern Critical Theory lecture by John Lurz (English, Tufts) on Poststructuralism.
Thursday, October 15, 2026
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Professor Ángel Garcia (English/Creative Writing) will read from his latest collection, Indifferent Cities.
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Professor Ángel García (English/Creative Writing) will read from his latest collection, Indifferent Cities.
Friday, October 16, 2026
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Professor Austin Strange is an Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong. He will be presenting his paper titled "Is Soft Power a Zero-Sum Competition?" where he dives into the economic relations between the United States and China. Join us in David Kinley Hall Room 404 to learn more about his findings.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
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Please join the Unit for Criticism for a Modern Critical Theory lecture by Greta LaFleur (American Studies, Yale) on Gender.
Thursday, October 22, 2026
Friday, October 23, 2026
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Please join us for the Game Studies and Design October Town Hall. This month's guest speaker is Amber Holkenbrink, Principal Experience Designer on Apex Legends at Respawn Entertainment. She has worked in the game industry for over 16 years and has contributed to the art, animation, and design of more than 30 titles, including Call of Duty: Warzone.
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In this CAS/MillerComm presentation, GAM Visiting Scholar Professor Sangaré (Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales - INALCO) treats Islam in France as a case study in the state management of minority religion in a secular republic. Hosted by the Department of History.
Monday, October 26, 2026
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Following the election, this panel examines the results and their significance for Brazil's future. Speakers will analyze voting patterns, political shifts, and the potential impact of the election on governance, public policy, and democratic institutions.
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
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The techniques for making texts have changed across multiple media and historical contexts since antiquity, but a regular feature of the work of authors and scholars through all those changes is the reliance on helpers or amanuenses. Dr. Ann Blair (Harvard) will discuss the factors that have made them both invisible and occasionally visible, and the kind of work they did.
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The techniques for making texts have changed across multiple media and historical contexts since antiquity, but a regular feature of the work of authors and scholars through all those changes is the reliance on helpers or amanuenses. Dr. Ann Blair (Harvard) will discuss the factors that have made them both invisible and occasionally visible, and the kind of work they did.
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Please join the Unit for Criticism for a Modern Critical Theory lecture by Rob Rushing (European Languages & Transcultural Studies, UCLA) on Biopolitics.
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
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Time & Location TBD
Thursday, October 29, 2026
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Professor Gillen D'Arcy Wood (English and Earth Science & Environmental Change) will discuss his book, The Wake of HMS Challenger: How a Legendary Victorian Voyage Tells the Story of Our Oceans’ Decline.
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Professor Gillen D'Arcy Wood (English and Earth Science & Environmental Change) will discuss his book, The Wake of HMS Challenger: How a Legendary Victorian Voyage Tells the Story of Our Oceans’ Decline.
Friday, October 30, 2026
Monday, November 2, 2026
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
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Professor Xiao Su presents innovative electrochemical approaches for addressing environmental challenges and improving water purification technologies. The lecture explores emerging research that advances sustainable solutions for water treatment and environmental remediation.
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Please join the Unit for Criticism for a Modern Critical Theory lecture by Chi-Ming Yang (English, University of Pennsylvania) on Orientalism.
Wednesday, November 4, 2026
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Bruce J. Tromberg, the director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at the National Institutes of Health, will give the Beckman-Brown Lecture on Interdisciplinary Science at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, in the auditorium of the Beckman Institute.
Thursday, November 5, 2026
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Representatives from the HuMetricsHSS Humane Metrics Initiative will present on the values-based frameworks they’ve developed to guide all kinds of scholarly processes. The session will include time for audience questions.
Friday, November 6, 2026
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Professor Stefania Chiarelli explores representations of water, rivers, and aquatic environments in Brazilian literature. Drawing on examples from Brazilian prose, the lecture examines how aquatic imagery shapes narratives, cultural memory, and literary interpretations of place and identity.
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The Psychology Department is excited to continue the First Friday Psychology-Beckman Colloquium Series for the 2026-2027 academic year, a monthly event designed to bring together members of the Department of Psychology, Beckman Institute, and beyond for engaging, cross-area conversations.
Monday, November 9, 2026
Tuesday, November 10, 2026
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The Lemann Center Grad Forum showcases research conducted by graduate students whose work engages with Brazil. Through presentations and discussion sessions, participants share emerging scholarship, exchange ideas across disciplines, and strengthen connections within the Brazilian studies community at Illinois.
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
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Please join us for this community building event! We will share information about the new MS in Game Development, and showcase games we are building and playing right now. We will also hear from our guest speaker Jeremy Moncauskas, Senior Level Designer at WB Games.
Thursday, November 12, 2026
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This event will highlight the collaborative project involving Emblematica (U of I), a digital library of emblem books, and Compositor (U of Birmingham), a database of printers’ ornaments. Dr. Hazel Wilkinson hypothesizes that “emblem-literacy” caused historical readers to engage with ornamented books in ways previously unaccounted-for in scholarship.
