Sarah Kyle, a visiting scholar from the  University of Central Oklahoma and a 2017-18 Obermann Fellow, is working on a study of the Roccabonella Herbal, a fifteenth-century Venetian illustrated book of plant medicines. An art historian, Kyle is studying the interplay of the more than 400 paintings in the book with its encyclopedic account of medicinal plants. The book, she believes, represents a "network that maps relationships among artists, physicians, and the developing study of botany."

Rachel Williams, chair of the UI Department of Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies and associate professor of Art and Art History, is part of a creative team that has developed an upcoming exhibition at the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library. Williams's stunning art helps tell the story of the Czech and Slovak Legions during World War I and the birth of Czechoslovakia, midwifed by a professor in exile along with his family and students.  The team, including NCSML curator Stefanie Kohn, NCSML director of learning and civic engagement Nic Hartmann, and author Kevin J. McNamara, will discuss the making of the exhibit on April  5 at 4:00 pm in Room 240 of Art Building West. 

Williams, who co-directed the 2011 Obermann Humanities Symposium, "Comics, Creativity, and Culture," is also at work on a book-length graphic history of the 1943 Detroit race riot.   

We are thrilled to share two of the provocative keynote lectures from our recent symposium, "Against Amnesia: Archives, Evidence, and Social Justice." In our next newsletter, we'll provide a longer summary of this exciting conference and its sister event, the Iowa City Archives Crawl, but more immediately, we wanted to share the audio and video of these two excellent lectures.