Campus Humanities Calendar

Journalist Helmuth (Slate, Scientific American, Washington Post) will argue that as universities, public health bodies, science agencies, and publishers face growing political attacks, scholars must build public support for academic freedom, long-term research, honest history, and life-saving health policy by engaging journalists and mass media directly.

Join us for dinner and a lecture given by Dr. Jerome Galea.This lecture explores the rapidly evolving field of Global Mental Health over the past decade. It examines the reasons behind limited access to mental health services worldwide in the context of the increasing global burden of mental illness leading to the "mental health treatment gap."

Merle Bowen, CAS Associate 2024-25 (African American Studies), presents her recent work that sheds light on the hitherto untold stories of Black rural life in Atlantic Canada, analyzing the diverse experiences of people of African descent and by situating them as speakers and agents of their own lives.

From its invention in the Bronze Age, glass was conceived as “molten stone” and continuously used to emulate gems, gold, and rare marbles. Drawing on archaeological finds, representations in art works, and written sources, Dr. Anastasios Antonaras (Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki,)

On March 26, the Department of Dance will present a special lecture/exhibition entitled "Blacks in Ballet: Embodiment, Representation, Resilience" at the Independent Media Center. This event will feature ballet historian and former Dance Theatre of Harlem company member Dr. Joselli Deans and local visual artist Marilynn Dean Cleveland.

Please join us for the seventh annual symposium in Holocaust, Genocide, Memory Studies. The past annual symposia were wonderful, and we hope that this conference will continue to showcase diverse and brilliant work within memory studies (broadly conceived) of graduate students.

How can we use spatial narrative data to understand resources within diverse communities? Join Dr. AJ Kim from San Diego State University as they explore the threats experienced by marginalized communities facing structural racism in New York and New Orleans.

Join us for the Big Ten Trans Studies Initiative's research symposium, March 27-28. Friday, March 27: opening plenary session, featuring past and present University of Illinois Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellows in Trans Studies: Emi Frerichs, Sawyer Kemp, Ava L.J. Kim, and Adrian King. Reception to follow.

Join us for the Big Ten Trans Studies Initiative's research symposium, a full day of panels featuring scholars from institutions across the Big Ten network.

Do you weave, crochet, knit, felt, or embroider? Krannert Art Museum invites you to Knit & Sit! Bring your project and join us for a weaver’s circle in the galleries. All ages and experience levels are welcome! Free and open to everyone. *Parking nearby is free on weekends.*

This informal group aims to bring together graduate students from across campus to share their enthusiasm for the thought-provoking scholarship that animates them as people. Bring your lunch and stop by to listen and chat!

In the fall of 1989, citizens of East Germany took to the streets and, for a few electric months, built something rare: a genuine experiment in radical democracy. Then the West moved in — and that experiment was erased from national and global memory. Remembering 1989 asks why this “time out of joint” was buried, and how the unresolved legacies of post-Cold War...

New France once stretched from the St. Lawrence to New Orleans. As borders shifted and the US and Canada formed, French communities grew isolated, yet their vibrant cultures endured. Through story, song, and "Creole Fiddle," you’ll explore this rich history and its distinctive musical traditions.

The Leopard in the Garden: Animal and Human Lives in Paris at the First Public Zoo of the Modern Era presents the inner workings of the menagerie at the Paris Museum of Natural History and how visions for the zoo collided with the interests of humans and animals alike.

Celebrate the opening of Spurlock's newest exhibit, "Unfinished Revolutions: Living Stories of American Rights". Stop by anytime between 5pm and 8pm to explore the exhibit, enjoy light refreshments, and listen to protest music performed by Paul Kotheimer.

Social and digital media are reshaping how information and politics circulate worldwide. From conspiracy theories to viral falsehoods, the “attention dynamics” of online platforms amplify rumors and enable efforts to influence public opinion.

A reading by alumni of the creative writing program, Jessica Tanck and Matthew Gavin Frank. This event is made possible by the Robert J. and Katherin Carr visiting author series.

2026 Pakistan Studies Lecture by Professor Saad Gulzar, University of Notre Dame on "Politics, Bureaucracy, and the Promise of Better Governance in Pakistan" NO REGISTRATION required.

This symposium presents a series of four talks and a concluding roundtable, which together will take up the question of how the study of literary history can contribute to our understanding of both the causes of and potential solutions to the crisis of climate change.

Join us for a hybrid CEAPS Speaker talk "Finding An Audience: Japan’s First Women Architects and the NHK Ladies' Classroom" with Dr. Michelle L. Hauk (Washington University in St. Louis). Register here!

Please join us for an event in the Timbuktu Talks series with Aly Drame, a professor of history at Dominican University. His lecture will call attention to the need to better reframe the rise and development of Islam in the wider Senegambia, considering the role played by the Mandinka Muslim settlements in the Middle Casamance in this process through intermarriage...

This talk will highlight the Kinsey Institute’s founding and multi-disciplinary history, continued cultural impact, current research program, and reflect on the ways in which today’s social and political climate presents new challenges for multi-disciplinary sex research.

For this event, Dr. Holloway (President and CEO, Henry Luce Foundation, and former President of Rutgers University) will join Chancellor Charles L. Isbell, Jr. and Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor John Coleman for a moderated conversation about their experiences and observations on the role of risk management in leadership for higher education today

Award-winning Palestinian artist and filmmaker Basma al-Sharif explores cyclical political histories and conflicts. In films and installations that move backward and forward in history, between place and non-place, she confronts the legacy of colonialism through satirical, immersive, and lyrical works.

A reading by Stephen Markley, made possible by the Robert J. and Katherin Carr visiting author series. Stephen Markley is the author of The Deluge, hailed by The New York Times Book Review as an Editor's choice. His previous books include the critically acclaimed bestseller Ohio, as well as Publish this Book and Tales of Iceland.

Love and consciousness seem to differ. But what if it is the conviction that consciousness is divorced from value, from sociality, and from striving for intimacy that gets in the way of making sense of this phenomenon? Philosopher Alva Noë, University of California, Berkeley, argues that consciousness, like love, is bound up with the work of making relationships.

The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures invites you to a lunch seminar with celebrated writer Yan Geling on April 10 (Fri), 11:00 AM at Levis Faculty Center (4th Floor). The discussion focuses on her novel Criminal Lu Yanshi, the inspiration for Zhang Yimou’s films Coming Home and One Second. Translator Lawrence Walker will also join.

Join us to help celebrate Political Science professor & CEAPS Advisory Board member Yujeong Yang on her new book! Refreshments will be served. Please register here!

2026 Indian Languages and Cultures Lecture by Professor Andrew Ollett, University of Chicago, on "Context, from 7th century India to today". NO REGISTRATION required.

Undergraduates of any major are invited to this informal lunch talk with Rita Dove. Dove served as U.S. Poet Laureate from 1993–1995. She was a winner of the 1987 Pulitzer Prize in poetry and the 2023 honorary National Book Award.

Join us for a free public reading by award-winning poet Rita Dove. Dove served as U.S. Poet Laureate from 1993 to 1995, and was a winner of the 1987 Pulitzer Prize in poetry and the 2023 honorary National Book Award.

Join us for presentations by our recent CAS Associates. At 11am Ramón Soto-Crespo (English) discusses the origin of Puerto Rico's ecological literature and at noon, Alison Bell (Evolution, Ecology, & Behavior) presents the evolution of family life in a small fish.

Join us for a discussion with GAM Visiting Artist Paul O'Mahony, Founder and Director, Out of Chaos Theatre (London, UK).

How does Greek tragedy respond to and reflect the concerns of modern communities? Drawing on his experiences staging and reimagining Greek literature in theatres, online and within community settings, Paul O’Mahony explores the issues and opportunities these ancient texts present.

2026 Screening and Discussion: Zinda Bhaag (2013), will be an event of film screening and introduction followed by Q/A with Professor Iftikhar Dadi, Cornell University. A reception will follow. NO REGISTRATION required.

This public event will begin with a lecture by Dr. Warren C. Brown (California Institute of Technology discussing medieval textuality and materiality. A reception and open house will follow where visitors may view our recently acquired Merovingian manuscript and Greek papyrus. All are welcome, and refreshments will be served.

Book launch of Ethan Madarieta's Land's Language: On Mapuche Memory, Translation, and the Territorial Aporia.

Please join us for the launch of Ethan Madarieta’s first book, Land's Language: On Mapuche Memory, Translation, and the Territorial Aporia.

Drawing on scholarship about the value of suspending economic incentives in everyday life, Dr. Newfield will argue that public universities must replace a financial model that harms education and erodes solvency. His presentation will also examine and challenge the belief that “learning equals earning” amid deep dependence on debt, asset inflation, and risk management.

Grad students from all disciplines are invited to the 16th Gesa E. Kirsch Graduate Student Symposium, April 23–24, 2026—an interdisciplinary, student-led event featuring diverse presentations, workshops, and a keynote by Kaia Simon (UW Eau Claire). Proposals on writing, rhetoric, media, education, and more are welcome in traditional or experimental formats.

In honor of the annual commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, Helen Makhdoumian will give a talk entitled "On Beginnings, or the Roots and Routes of the Nested Memory Concept.”

Annual Armenian Genocide Event, featuring Helen Makhdoumian (Postdoc, Vanderbilt University)

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat posits that under the influence of digital technologies and in the shadow of AI, civilization is entering a period of pressure that threatens cultures, communities, and individuals.

Join us for a hybrid CEAPS Speaker/Political Science Workshop titled “From Correction to Connection: Relational Approaches to Countering Misinformation” with Cesi Cruz (University of Michigan). Register here!

The PhD Program in Architecture and Landscape Architecture hosts a keynote lecture by Hi'ilei Julia Hobart (Native and Indigenous Studies, Yale) as part of the symposium "Creativity in Modern Heritage." Hobart is author of Cooling the Tropics: Ice, Indigeneity, and Hawaiian Refreshment (Duke University Press, 2022).

Celebrate the semester’s end with RBML! We are diving into the trendy book decoration world — bring your own books and paint the edges with our supplies, then view various historical fore-edge paintings from the collection in our Reading Room. All are welcome to attend, and refreshments will be served.

Prizes for Research Ceremony and Reception