Campus Humanities Calendar

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)

This talk argues that paintings exhibited in London in the mid-nineteenth century should be understood within polluted atmospheres that shaped not only artistic representations, but also practices of conservation, collecting and display, within a broader culture of technological accommodation to pollution.

The next Scholarship Out Loud panel is part of the 16th Annual Gesa E. Kirsch Graduate Symposium. Join us on Friday, April 24, 9:00–10:00 a.m., at the Literatures, Cultures & Linguistics Building, Room 1080 Lucy Ellis Lounge to hear from graduate students about their research.

What makes a map readable? Join Izabela Gołębiowska, PhD of the University of Warsaw to explore factors driving the success of maps and geovisualizations as tools for informed decisions. Dr. Gołębiowska will discuss a range of empirical studies involving map users, addressing the challenges of naïve cartography and CartoAI. Lunch will be provided!

Dance at Illinois presents the research symposium, "Dancing Discourse," featuring four BA candidates, Anna Carlson, Harper Clark, Sofia Corrales, and Jasmine O'Connor. This event is free and open to the public.

Mika Natif is Associate Professor of Art at George Washington University. She focuses on the intercultural exchanges and global connections that Muslim societies forged with the European sphere during the premodern period.

Experience a captivating presentation and Q&A with Professor Joyce Yen Feng, Professor Emerita in the Department of Social Work at National Taiwan University (NTU). Dr. Feng is a two-time University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Social Work graduate and is highly respected across East Asia.

Dance at Illinois presents "Roller Skating while Black," an interactive lecture-demonstration on the history, technique, and cultural influences of Black rhythm skating, by guest artist Isaiah Harris. Lecture begins at 5:15pm, skating follows at 6:30pm. $8 admission fee, $4.50 skate rental.

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.

Cancer Voices performs true stories from survivors, doctors, family members, nurses, & researchers. Our 45-minute script and following community discussions work toward effective, just healthcare for all. Events are free & open to all. April 29: 6:00 pm at Lincoln Theater, UIUC. May 1: 6:00 pm at Station Theater, Urbana.

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!

Have you created a game, art work, program, poster, class project or research about games and design? If so, we encourage you to showcase your work at the Game Studies and Design Spring Showcase on Friday, May 1. Undergraduate and graduate level projects are welcome. These projects will be included in Undergraduate Research Week and Research Symposium 2026.

Join us for a special tour led by exhibiting artists from Another Place: Storymaking the Entangled Prairie. Gain insights into their creative practice and research. Today's tour features Ryan Griffis (video), Melissa Pokorny (sculpture) and Stacey A. Robinson (graphic design), who are all on faculty in the School of Art & Design. Exhibition on view through July 2.

Join us to attempt to craft your own textiles out of the supplies we have provided for you. Whilst you craft, feel free to learn about, feel, and experience different textiles from all over the world that we will have out for everyone to experience.

Dr. Renée Desjardins from Saint Boniface University in Canada will be giving a talk at the TIS Colloquium 2026 on May 6 from 10:00–11:00 a.m.: “To Adapt or Get Left Behind: How the History of the Social Internet Can Help Translators and Interpreters Understand and Navigate the Current AI Moment.”

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).

Take care of yourself before finals start or create a Mother’s Day gift. Make a card, decorate a pot, and plant your own plant, and pack a destress tea jar.

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

Celebrate as we open the 2026 Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition! Explore a wide range of art and design work created by 100+ BFA graduates in studio art, new media, art education, graphic design, and industrial design. Exhibition on view through May 16. The School of Art & Design will host a reception for artists and visitors in the Link Gallery.