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Past symposia
Opportunity to explore an important topic using an interdisciplinary lens
The Obermann Symposium (formerly Arts & Humanities Symposium) is an opportunity for UI scholars to explore an important topic using an interdisciplinary lens. Co-directors invite national and international speakers who provide an interdisciplinary response to the theme, and also highlight the work of UI and local experts. The symposium often includes an arts component, as well as opportunities to share pedagogical approaches.
Recent symposia have explored reproductive justice, activism in sports, the role of the humanities in understanding and communicating the Anthropocene, celebrating and forming a cohesive vision for the study of Latinos in the Midwest, and an examination of Don Quixote as one of literature's most famous exemplars of parody and plagiarism.
This is an award of up to $15,000, including significant staff support.
2026–27 Symposium
Meaningful use of AI is more about people than technology. This symposium brings together clinicians, scholars, and community stakeholders to catalyze collaboration, drive Iowa as a center of excellence in AI, and explore how we utilize these powerful tools to sustain human connections and thoughtful care in Iowa and beyond.
Directed by Kenneth Nepple (Department of Urology), Jason Misurac (Department of Pediatrics), and Weiguo Patrick Fan (Department of Business Analytics), this symposium builds on the University of Iowa Health Care’s deployment of AI to engage the issue of care in all its dimensions. Practitioners and researchers from different disciplines will address issues from the cancer rate in Iowa and healthcare provider burnout to the values underlying different approaches to caring for others and the self. The event will facilitate interdisciplinary discussions between professionals in medicine, business analytics, humanities, law, the arts, software engineering, journalism, social sciences, education, and more. Our goal is that the symposium will bridge these perspectives to look productively at an issue that generates both trepidation and hope.
The symposium will take place on April 1 and 2, 2027. Stay tuned for more information!
2025–26 Symposium
Directed by Brian R. Farrell, Daria Fisher Page, and Ryan T. Sakoda (UI College of Law), Cultivating Rurality: Building Community around Rural Research brought together scholars, community leaders from across the U.S., and professionals who work with rural populations and in rural spaces. During the symposium, attendees were invited to collaborate in theorizing rurality, share how it impacts their work, examine how rurality is represented and celebrated, and discuss challenges faced by rural communities.
The symposium took place on March 26 and 27, 2026. Cultivating Rurality aimed to identify and connect faculty members and others at the University of Iowa already engaged in rural research and teaching, and also included several events open to the public. Participants left the symposium with new scholarly tools and professional connections to more effectively address interdisciplinary issues of rurality in the future.
Apply
The application deadline for the 2026–27 Obermann Symposium directorship was October 29, 2025. The application deadline for the 2027–28 Obermann Symposium is Wednesday, October 28, 2026 (5:00 p.m.).
Past Symposia
List of Obermann Symposia and their accompanying Obermann Courses since 1983.
