February 2020

Events
The following are Obermann and Obermann co-sponsored events:
Deadlines
News & Achievements 
Celebrating the work of current & past Obermann scholars and friends 
Activating the Museum
Obermann Humanities Symposium asks us to expand the possibilities of the museum

When you think about museums, what comes to mind? Many of us picture an imposing building with artworks and artifacts displayed among velvet ropes, marble columns, and guards who shush you. But the two directors of this spring's Obermann Humanities Symposium-- What Can Museums Become?--Joyce Tsai (Stanley Museum of Art and School of Art & Art History) and Jen Buckley (English), have gathered speakers who are plotting entirely new possibilities. They have positioned the museum as a central location for community organizing and even as a space where healing takes place.

Imagining Latinidades Continues
Sawyer Seminar offers 12 speakers + two films

The second half of the year-long Andrew W. Mellon Sawyer Seminar, Imagining Latinidades, welcomes a full slate of speakers to campus this spring. After hosting three symposia in the fall and launching a podcast, the Seminar's directors-- Darrel Wanzer-Serrano (Latina/o Studies and Communication Studies), Rene Rocha (Political Science and Latina/o Studies), and  Ariana Ruiz (Latina/o Studies and Spanish & Portuguese)--have organized three more symposia and the continuation of a film series for the spring semester. Read more...
Summer 2020 Humanities for the Public Good Internships
Community-based art programming, rural placemaking, oral history archiving, and more

Working with partners outside of the academy is one of the best ways for graduate students to expand their understanding of careers and workplaces where advanced studies in the humanities have a great deal to offer. For the second year, in collaboration with the Graduate College, the Andrew W. Mellon-funded Humanities for the Public Good initiative is offering graduate internships with area organizations: Public Space One,  the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library, the African American Museum of Iowa, Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development, Hancher Auditorium, and the University of Iowa Labor Center. Interns will receive $5,000 for working 30 hours a week during June and July, which includes training and support with a cohort of fellow interns as well as mentoring by community partners.

Interested in participating? Attend an information session on Friday, January 31, 12:00-1:00 pm at the Obermann Center, 111 Church Street.
Spring Conversations Focus on the Health of Rural Latina/o/x Communities, Attention, and African Americans in Iowa
Series celebrates scholarly and community voices

Obermann Conversations put UI scholars in conversation with community experts around shared topics of interest. All talks are at the Iowa City Public Library, Room A. This spring's lineup includes:
  • Feb. 4 - ICE Enforcement: Impacts on Community Health and Well-being  with Nicole Novak (Public Health), Carolyn Colvin (Language, Literacy, & Culture), Elizabeth Bernal (Eastern Iowa Bond Project), and a community member from Mt. Pleasant, IA
  • March 25 - The Art & Science of Attention with Shawn Vecera (Psychological & Brain Sciences), Fannie Hungerford (yoga and meditation instructor), and Raud Kashef (Iowa-based rock climber) 
  • April 9 - Telling the Stories of African Americans in Iowa with members of the UI-based Colored Conventions Project and Felicite Wolfe (African American Museum of Iowa)

Faculty Institute Spurs Commitment to Public Engagement 
Participants develop courses, make cross-disciplinary connections 

From January 13 through 16, 2020, the following University of Iowa faculty and teaching staff, in addition to one visitor from Grinnell College, participated in an institute to learn more about best practices and ethics of working collaboratively with a public partner to create lessons and courses for both undergraduate and graduate students. The 2020 Faculty Institute on Engagement and the Academy was co-directed by Darryl Heller (Indiana University, South Bend); Teresa Mangum (GWSS, English, and the Obermann Center); and Jennifer New (Obermann Center). The group worked on courses that included themes around arts and social protests, language heritage, popularizing science, environmental history, international development, and intergenerational dance, among other topics. In addition to meeting representatives from different local non-profits, the group also had the opportunity to tour The Dream City and meet with its founder Fred Newell regarding the organization's mission. We are grateful for excellent workshops led by Nick Benson (Office of Engagement), Anna Flaming (Teaching, Learning, and Technology), and Bria Marcelo (Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion).
  • Ana M. Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Spanish & Portuguese
  • Anita Jung, Art & Art History
  • Christopher-Rasheem McMillan, Dance and GWSS
  • Consuelo Guayara Sánchez, Rhetoric
  • Douglas Hess, Political Science, Grinnell College
  • Eric Gidal, English
  • Heather Parrish, Art & Art History
  • Kimberly Datchuk, Stanley Museum of Art
  • Kirsten Kumpf Baele, German
  • Lori Adams, Biology
  • Naomi Greyser, English, American Studies, and GWSS
  • Nathan Platte, Music and Cinematic Arts
  • Sujatha Sosale, Journalism & Mass Communication
  • Vero Rose Smith, Stanley Museum of Art
  • Lisa Ortiz, Mellon Sawyer Seminar Postdoctoral Fellow, Obermann Center
  • Ashley Cheyemi McNeil, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, Obermann Center
Pictured above with special guests at our closing dinner: Provost Montse Fuentes, Vice President for Research Marty Scholtz, and Dean and Associate Provost of the Graduate College, John Keller