Upcoming Events

Out of the Archive: S. Torriano Berry Horror Trilogy Film Screening
Tuesday, October 3, 2023 6:30pm
Please join us at FilmScene this fall for a monthly screening and discussion series, Out of the Archive: Envisioning Blackness. A continuation of conversations begun last spring in the inaugural Out of the Archive program, the series showcases the vibrant, multifaceted tradition of Black cinema by presenting rarely screened and/or recently restored films. Tickets are pay-what-you-can (with students, in particular, encouraged to pick $0). Join us before each screening for a free dinner reception...

Get Concrete About Abstracts — An Obermann Get It Done Workshop
Wednesday, October 4, 2023 12:00pm to 1:00pm
The conference abstract is a surprisingly difficult academic genre. How do you explain your project and entice your reader with only a couple hundred words? In this Get It Done lunchtime workshop, Hyaeweol Choi (Professor, Religious Studies & Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies) and E. Cram (Professor, Communication Studies & Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies) will discuss how to write a compelling conference abstract that will grab the attention of conference selection committees. Both...

Scrutinizing the Shelves: Banned Books — An Obermann Conversation
Thursday, October 5, 2023 4:00pm to 5:30pm
Recently, there has been an escalation of book bans and censorship in public school classrooms and libraries across the U.S. Many of the current book ban campaigns target books by or about LGBTQIA+ persons and people of color. In this Obermann Conversation, an outreach librarian, two scholars of education, and the director of a local cultural institution will discuss the history of book bans in the Midwest as well as nationally, and look forward to a future with access to books for all...

Ida Cordelia Beam Distinguished Visiting Professor Lecture-Jane Smiley
Thursday, October 5, 2023 7:00pm to 8:00pm
The Department of English welcomes Ida Cordelia Beam Speaker, Jane Smiley, to speak on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m.
Jane is a Pulitzer-Prize winning author and alumni of the University of Iowa's Department of English.
A reception will follow.
Her visit is made possible with the support of the Provost's office and the Department of English.

Contemporary Approaches to Shakespeare
Wednesday, October 11, 2023 4:00pm to 5:00pm
2023 is the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio—the first collected edition of his works, and the first publication ever of plays including Macbeth and The Tempest. Why are we still reading and performing his works all these years later? How do we situate Shakespeare’s plays in a contemporary context? Join us for a roundtable discussion on Shakespeare in the 21st century. At this conversational panel, scholars will discuss Shakespeare in the context of race, prisons, and contemporary...

2023 Learning Sciences Graduate Student Conference
Saturday, October 14 8:00am to Sunday, October 15, 2023 5:00pm
The 2023 Learning Sciences Graduate Student Conference is being hosted by the University of Iowa College of Education, Delta Center, and the Obermann Center on Oct. 14-15, with a a pre-conference workshop and an evening kick-off social event on Oct. 13. If interested in attending then please visit lsgsc.org for Registration information for the 2023 LSGSC!

Book Matters: The Theory of Being at Prairie Lights
Monday, October 16, 2023 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Join us for a reading and discussion, co-sponsored by Prairie Lights, to celebrate The Theory of Being: Practices for Transforming Self and Communities Across Difference, edited by a research team from the UI College of Education.

The Hong Kong Lit Scene: Writing, Translating, & Publishing, A conversation with Tammy Lai-Ming Ho, Wong Yi, and Jennifer Feeley
Wednesday, October 18, 2023 1:30pm to 3:00pm
Please join us for a panel discussion with three internationally recognized leaders on the Hong Kong literary scene as they share their experiences with writing, editing, translating, and publishing in Hong Kong, and the challenges of literary translation and publishing in a wider global context.

"Pop and the People: Re-thinking Wang Guangyi’s Great Criticism series" - Peggy Wang - Visiting Scholar in Art History - School of Art and Art History
Thursday, October 26, 2023 5:30pm
Wang Guangyi's Great Criticism series escalated to international fame in the 1990s. Cast as a representative of contemporary Chinese art at large, its global renown both emerged from and contributed to tired tropes of political dissidence. This talk looks at what has been oversimplified and missed in readings of these iconic images. By uncovering new meanings for these works, this talk considers the broader stakes of interpretation in a Western-centered global art world. (Image credit: Wang...

Cannot be anything against the wind
Monday, November 6, 2023 1:30pm to 3:20pm
Representing the Video Data Bank, Emily Martin (Distribution Manager) will present on the history, distribution, education and preservation practices of the Chicago based video art collection which is dedicated to fostering the awareness and scholarship of the history and contemporary practice of video and media art through its programs. This presentation will also include a screening and discussion of a selection of works from VDB’s collection that respond to the following question: How do...

Out of the Archive: The Experimental Films of Edward Owens
Tuesday, November 7, 2023 6:30pm
Please join us at FilmScene this fall for a monthly screening and discussion series, Out of the Archive: Envisioning Blackness. A continuation of conversations begun last spring in the inaugural Out of the Archive program, the series showcases the vibrant, multifaceted tradition of Black cinema by presenting rarely screened and/or recently restored films. Tickets are pay-what-you-can (with students, in particular, encouraged to pick $0). Join us before each screening for a free dinner reception...

Smart Labor and the Fantasy Production of Association for Southeast Asian Nations Smart Cities
Thursday, November 9, 2023 5:00pm to 6:30pm
What’s so smart about smart cities? In 2018, the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) launched a program to transform 26 pilot cities in the region to “smart cities,” where services and productivity are enhanced by information and communication technology (ICTs) and new modes of governance.
Writing for the Humanities workshop
Friday, November 17, 2023 12:30am to 2:30pm
Writing for the Humanities Workshop for Graduate Students and Faculty with Professor Eric Hayot (Comparative Literature & Asian Studies, Penn State University).

Artificial Intelligence through a Wide Lens - A multidisciplinary research event at the Stanley Museum of Art
Thursday, November 30, 2023 4:00pm to 5:30pm
In the last week, you’ve probably asked Google to answer questions, chatted with Siri, rocked out to a new band recommended by Spotify, or asked Chat GPT to produce a first draft of a form letter for you—reminders that our lives are already deeply entwined with artificial intelligence. The term "AI" covers a host of technologies. What connects them? Our very human ambition to create machines that can learn to solve problems. Join us for the next Wide Lens panel as experts from computer science...