Speakers

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.

This talk introduces medieval Sicily in its Muslim period, focusing on how this history was experienced, archived, imagined, and remembered by its native poets and writers, as well as the travelers who visited the island, during its political and cultural apogee, and the later years under the domination of the Norman kings.

2026 Pakistan Studies Lecture by Professor Saad Gulzar, University of Notre Dame on "Governing Against the Odds: Lessons from Research in Pakistan".NO REGISTRATION required.

Join members of the Women’s Collective from Lota, Chile, together with area scholars and activists, for a midday panel discussion exploring the Collective’s work, the history of coal mining in their community, and the role of arpilleras in preserving bilingual participation. Reception to follow. Presented in Spanish and English.

Join members of the Women’s Collective from Lota, Chile, together with University of Illinois scholars and area activists, for a midday panel discussion exploring the Collective’s work, the history of coal mining in their community, and the role of arpilleras in preserving bilingual participation. Reception to follow. Presented in Spanish and English.

In this talk, we will report on our effort to test this hypothesis: is it possible to "excel" in a course without absolutely any knowledge? We show that, while there is variability across courses and assignment types, large language models are indeed often able to achieve a strong grade in a course without any meaningful help from human users or course material.

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).

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...

As climate change accelerates pressures on land, water, and mineral resources, communities increasingly face decisions under deep uncertainty.

Join us for a lecture by Andrea Scarantino, a professor of Neuroscience and Philosophy at Georgia State University.

Philosopher Kendall Walton argued that emotions toward fictional people and situations do not motivate behavior. Andrea Scarantino, Georgia State University, disagrees, asserting that emotions about fictional objects are motivationally powerful.

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

The Center for East Asian & Pacific Studies will be hosting the 2026 CHINA Town Hall via live webcast, featuring Stephen Biegun, former U.S. deputy secretary of state, and Sarah Beran, former deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and former senior director for China and Taiwan affairs at the White House National Security Council...

This Symposium will explore the relationships between social media and politics in contemporary Brazil. The rise of social media altered the way information is produced, disseminated, and mobilized by political parties at a time of heightened public distrust. Join us for an opportunity to learn from experts on Brazilian media.

Please join us for the University Archives' monthly Women in Science Lecture Series, April 9, from 12 -1 pm. Dr. Gisela Sin, Professor of Political Science, one of the founders of Women in Legislative Studies, will discuss her research about political institutions and how they interact with each other.

Join us for a lecture by Jorell Meléndez-Badillo, Associate Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His lecture will explore the ways that history teaching and writing gave way to racialized tropes of Puerto Rican docility and laziness...

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.

Join us for a lecture in the Illinois Forum on Human Flourishing in a Digital Age Speaker Series with Alva Noë.

Illinois Alumna, Mansi Sachdev will share insights from her professional journey in this virtual discussion. Her talk will offer a reflective look at how her academic foundation, particularly her GRID minor, has informed her approach to integrating gender perspectives into urban sustainability projects worldwide.

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!

Universidad de la Costa (CUC) representatives will offer a situated perspective from the Colombian Caribbean, highlighting the deep interconnections between ecosystems and communities that inhabit them. Our speakers will share experiences from research projects aimed at understanding ecological and social vulnerability in face of climate change and structural inequalites

Abstract: A brief history of how architecture has been valued from Vasari through Winckelmann to the present day and consequent expectation and agency of architects to meet those values. With a focus on climate change, and in that context some examples of the studio’s work.

“Bridging Ancestral Knowledge and Scientific Research: Community Perspectives from the Caribbean”. During this session, students will work in small groups to read one or more selected articles that we will provide beforehand.

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

Join professor Tayzhaun Glover for a talk for the Department of African American Studies Colloquium series.

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.

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.

Join CSGGE for a lecture by Dr. Frieda Ekotto. Dr. Ekotto is an intellectual historian and philosopher with areas of expertise in 20th and 21st-century Anglophone and Francophone literature and in the cinema of West Africa and its diaspora, she concentrates on contemporary issues of law, race and LG BTQIA2S+ issues.

Join us for a talk by Peruvian archaeologist and curator Luis A. Muro Ynoñán, as part of the Living Legacies series, presented in conjunction with the "Fragmented Histories: Andean Art Before 1600" exhibition.

Join us for a talk by Peruvian archaeologist and curator Luis A. Muro Ynoñán, as part of the Living Legacies series, presented in conjunction with the Fragmented Histories; Andean Art Before 1600 exhibition. *Parking nearby is free after 5 pm and on weekends.*

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.

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.

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.

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

Join the Frank Center for a Q&A with Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, who have co-authored NYT-bestselling books on recent presidential campaigns.

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.

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)

How can generative AI support ideation and conceptual thinking in graphic design education? Through classroom projects, two graphic design students and their professor will show how GenAI tools were used to spark ideas, explore visual directions, and expand conceptual thinking.

Join us for a lecture by Heather Demarest, an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of California, Boulder.

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 lecture in the Illinois Forum on Human Flourishing in a Digital Age Speaker Series with Ross Douthat.

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).