Friday, February 19
Roots, Diversity, Imagery: The Driving Force Behind Sign Language Identity
Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society, 5701 South Woodlawn Avenue, 1–3 p.m.
The Center for Gesture, Sign, and Language at the University of Chicago is hosting a discussion between three panelists on sign language identity. Drawing from literature, linguistics, and psychology, the forum aims to go beyond the limits of traditional disciplinary boundaries in its analysis to better understand sign language identity.
Brazil 2016: The Politics of an Olympian Crisis
Saieh Hall 203, 3–5 p.m.
Four analysts of Brazilian politics will discuss the various issues that Brazil faces in the months prior to Rio’s Summer Olympic Games—Brazil’s economic depression, allegations of political corruption, and backlash against several urban reform projects that were supposed to accompany the Olympic Games. Panelists include professors from UChicago, MIT, Harvard, and the University of Texas at Austin. This panel is part of the Latin American Briefing Series presented by the Center for Latin American Studies at the University.
Screening: Best of Enemies With Larry McEnerney
Institute of Politics, 5707 South Woodlawn Avenue, 5:30–7:30 p.m.
Professor Larry McEnerney, Director of the College Writing Program, will be screening the 2015 film Best of Enemies at the IOP. Directed by Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon, the film explores the 1968 convention debates between conservative writer William F. Buckley, Jr., and liberal writer Gore Vidal. Refreshments will be provided.
Saturday, February 20
57th Street Community Flea Market
1448 East 57th Street, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
Flea market with antique furniture and housewares, hand-made jewelry, bath and body products, accessories, clothing, art, and baked goods. Vendors include: Mikki’s Desserts, Baps Bags and Bling, and Absolutely Anything Essential Boutique.
Sunday, February 21
The Pope, the Church, and Climate Change
Hyde Park Union Church, 5600 South Woodlawn Avenue, 11:45 a.m.
The Hyde Park Union Church will be holding discussions on Pope Francis’ encyclical letter “Laudato Si’,” a papal document sent to members of the Roman Catholic Church, every Sunday through Lent. Laudato Si’ calls on the world to address human-induced climate change. Discussions will be non-denominational, and refreshments will be available beforehand.
Monday, February 22
How to Have a Say: Labor and Social Movements Negotiate with the University
Swift Hall Common Room, 4:30–6 p.m.
The University’s American Association of University Professors (AAUP) chapter is sponsoring a panel discussion, which is the second event in the Democratizing the University series which began in the fall. The AAUP aims to show their continued support for the recently-unionized non-tenure track faculty and Harper Schmidt Fellows, as well as the ongoing unionization effort by graduate students. Representatives from the University’s AAUP Chapter, Graduate Students United, Fair Budget UChicago, Trauma Care Coalition, Faculty Forward, and other groups will participate in the panel.
Why Science Needs Your Voice: Science Literacy and Outreach
Biological Sciences Learning Center 205, 5:30–6:30 p.m.
myCHOICE, a University of Chicago career empowerment program designed to expose bioscience Ph.D.’s to a variety of careers and work experiences, is hosting Ann Reid, the executive director at the National Center for Science Education, for a lecture and discussion. Reid will discuss controversies in science education, including “creationism, evolution, climate change, science and religion, and the nature of science as a way of knowing.” In her recent at the National Center for Science Education, Reid has been developing programs to help science teachers cover the socially controversial issues of evolution and climate change.
Foucault and Neoliberalism by Daniel Zamora
Seminary Co-Op Bookstore, 6 p.m.
Author and Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Illionis–Chicago, Daniel Zamora, will discuss his new book titled Foucault and Neoliberalism at the Seminary Co-Op. His book focuses on the question of liberalism and its place in Foucault’s works. The event is co-sponsored by the Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory (3CT).
Jon Huntsman on China and American Politics
International House Assembly Hall, 6–7:15 p.m.
Former Republican presidential candidate and former ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman, will sit down with the Institute of Politics (IOP) to discuss the U.S./China relationship. Huntsman will discuss his insights on how the future of the relationship between the two global powers might shape the future of the rest of the world.
Tuesday, February 23
U.S. Senate Candidate Andrea Zopp
Institute of Politics, 3–4 p.m.
Leading up to the March 15 Illinois Primary election, the IOP is providing candidates with the opportunity to present their views to students and community members. Andrea Zopp is running for office after working in the US Attorney’s Office, Chicago Public Schools, and as President of the Chicago Urban League. She will discuss her qualifications, the issues she is most passionate about, and her vision for office.
Queer Clout by Timothy Stewart-Winter
Seminary Co-Op, 4:30 p.m.
The Seminary Co-Op will be hosting a lecture from Timothy Stewart-Winter, an Associate Professor of History at Rutgers University. Stewart-Winter will be discussing his new book, Queer Clout: Chicago and the Rise of Gay Politics. The book traces the role of big-city municipal politics in moving gay politics into mainstream political movements. After the lecture, Kathleen Belew, Assistant Professor of U.S. History at the University of Chicago, will be leading a Q&A session.
Seminary Co-Op, 6 p.m.
Spanish author Tony Sala will be discussing his book, The Boys, a story about how a car crash in a small Catalonian town causes the lives of four characters to intertwine in interesting and exciting ways. Afterwards, Catalan lecturer Alba Girons Masot will be leading a Q&A session with Sala.
Let the People Rule: Are Presidential Primaries Good for Democracy?
Ida Noyes Third Floor Theater, 6–7:15 p.m.
Author, professor, and non-profit executive Geoffrey Cowen and IOP Fellow Jessica Yellin will hold a conversation about Cowen’s new book Let the People Rule: Theodore Roosevelt and the Birth of the Presidential Primary. Cowen will discuss the 1912 presidential primary’s effect on modern presidential politics and his own involvement in politics as both a participant and historian.
St. Philip Neri, 2110 East 72nd Street, 6–8 p.m.
Fifth Ward Alderman Leslie Hairston is holding monthly meetings with her constituents around the Fifth Ward of Chicago. Members of the Fifth Ward are welcome to attend and talk with Hairston about their concerns. The Fifth Ward includes the part of Hyde Park south of 55th Street.
Reynolds Club, South Lounge, 7–8 p.m.
The Coalition for Ethical Dining, which consists of the UChicago Climate Action Network, The Fight for Just Food, the Phoenix Sustainability Initiative, and the University of Chicago Animal Welfare Society, will be hosting a teach-in event on the University’s dining contract decision. The discussion will focus on the potential environmental and ethical impacts of the University’s dining contract decision. Food will be provided at this event.
Discussion of the Selection of a Candidate to be 4th Ward Alderman
1043 East 43rd Street room 43, 7–9 p.m.
Hyde Park has a history of combative, independent aldermen; with the resignation of Will Burns, the alderman of the Fourth Ward, some residents see an opportunity to reinforce this position. This meeting will focus on a discussion of who should fill the Fourth Ward Alderman position, what qualities they should have, and what issues they should focus on. The Fourth Ward includes Kenwood and parts of northern Hyde Park.
Wednesday, February 24
Conference on US Religions and Income Inequality
2:00–6:30 p.m. in the Third Floor Lecture Hall of the Divinity School (Swift Hall)
The Divinity School is hosting a multi-disciplinary symposium on the relationship between rising income inequality and religion in the United States. Presenters include professors from the Divinity School, the School of Social Science Administration, Booth School of Business, and Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. The event is sponsored by the Martin Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion. There will be a reception with hot appetizers and an open bar in the Swift Hall Common Room from 5:00–6:30 p.m.
Native Hubs: Culture, Community, and Belonging in Silicon Valley and Beyond
4:30–6:00 p.m. at the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture
The Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture will be hosting UC Santa Cruz anthropologist Renya K. Ramirez for a lecture on Ramirez’s work with Native Americans living in urban centers in the United States. Her work focuses on how Native Americans living off-reservation attempt to create a sense of belonging despite not having the full rights of a US citizen or the tribal resources provided to those living on reservations. There will be a reception afterward.
Reading of The UnAmericans by Molly Antopol
6:00 p.m at the Logan Center, Terrace Seminar Room
Author Molly Antopol will read from her debut story collection, The UnAmericans, which won the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award, a “5 Under 35” Award from the National Book Foundation, and the Ribalow Prize. Antopol is the recipient of a Radcliffe Institute Fellowship at Harvard and a Stegner Fellowship at Stanford, where she currently teaches. The event is presented by the Fictions and Forms Series and the Committee on Creative Writing.
Knocking the Hustle by Michael Dawson
6:00 p.m. at the Seminary Co-Op Bookstore
UChicago Professor of Political Science Michael Dawson will lead a discussion with Lester K. Spence, Associate Professor of Political Science and Africana Studies at Johns Hopkins University, about his new book Knocking the Hustle: Against the Neoliberal Turn in Black Politics. In his book, Spence discusses the effects of neoliberal policies on black politics and black empowerment. This event is co-sponsored by the Seminary Co-Op and the University’s Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture.
Death to the Establishment: How the GOP Divided
6:00–7:15 p.m. in the Main Dining Room of the Quadrangle Club
The IOP will be hosting Erick Erickson, talk radio host and editor of The Resurgent, for a discussion about how the rise of Trump and his followers has uncovered an ideological rift in the Republican Party. The discussion will cover the rise of Trump and Cruz and the possibility that this election could irrevocably change the future of the Republican Party.
In This Moment: Liberation and Struggle After Prison Reform
6–8 p.m. Hyde Park Arts Center, 5020 South Cornell Ave
Organized by the Prison + Neighborhoods Arts Project, this event will feature Oakland organizer Rachel Herzig in a discussion of the limits and possibilities of current prison and policing reform initiatives. The event will occur as an extension of the art exhibit, The Weight of Rage, which features artwork by incarcerated artists at the Stateville Correctional Center.
Julian Savulescu: Moral Enhancement
12–1:30 p.m. MacLean Center for Medical Ethics, 5841 South Maryland Avenue
Julian Savulescu, an Australian philosopher and bioethicist, completed his PhD under the supervision of bioethicist Peter Singer. In some of his publications, he has argued that parents have a responsibility to select the best children they could have, given relevant genetic information available to them, and that stem cell research is justifiable even if embryos are counted as people. He has co-authored two books: Medical Ethics and Law: The Core Curriculum (2008) and Unfit for the Future: The Need for Moral Enhancement (2012).
Screening: Raiders of the Lost Ark at the Oriental Institute
7 p.m. at the Oriental Institute
The Oriental Institute will be hosting a screening of the Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, in homage to Steven Spielberg’s love of the Saturday matinee cliffhanger serials from his childhood (an early professor at the Institute is considered the inspiration for the swashbuckling archeologist). There will be hot chocolate and pizza.
Thursday, February 25
Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conferences Schools Committee
5:30 p.m. at the Kenwood Academy Media Center, 5015 South Blackstone Avenue.
An impasse in contract negotiations between Chicago Public Schools and the union representing its teachers—in combination with CPS’s ongoing budget crisis—have ratcheted up tensions and prompted cuts to schools in the Hyde Park and Kenwood neighborhoods. At this meeting community members will discuss the state of local schools.
They’ve Got a Mouth on Them: Criminal Queers
7-9 p.m. at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts
This event will feature a screening of Criminal Queers, a film focused on finding ways to abolish confinement of gender and sexuality. Immediately following, there will be a discussion led by filmmakers Eric A. Stanley and Chris Vargas, and University professor Lauren Berlant. The event is part of the LGBTQ Studies Project and the Artists’ Salon at the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality.
7:30 p.m. at the Institute of Politics (IOP)
The IOP will host watch party for the CNN/Telemundo GOP debates, which will be the first Republican debates to take place after the New Hampshire primaries.
Friday, February 26
Nicholas Rudall on “What We Call Greek Tragedy”
5:15-7:00 p.m. in the Gleacher Center, Room 621
The Franke Institute for the Humanities will host Professor D. Nicholas Rudall, the founding director of Court Theatre, for a talk on Greek tragedy. Rudall will discuss various Greek tragedies and their link to the events occurring in Greece during the 60-year period of Athenian dominance. The event is part of a free lecture series by the Franke Institute, which will sponsor talks by renowned University scholars.
