CURRENT & UPCOMING

March 2018–Fall 2019
Humans in Medical Experiments: Issues of Social Justice
This exhibit at the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences (3rd floor) highlights eleven instances of human experimentation from 1796 to 2013. Displays include early experiments on digestion and X-rays; WWII experiments by the Nazis and Japanese; and experiments for the Manhattan Project, Atomic Energy Commission, and Holmesburg Prison.

PAST

February 28, 2018
Bill Morrison Film Screening Series
In anticipation of Bill Morrison’s visit to the University of Iowa, March 1-3, as part of the UI Provost’s Global Forum International Programs and Obermann Humanities Symposium, the Department of Cinematic Arts is hosting a screening series of a selection of Morrison’s short films. On February 28, the Department will screen Ghost Trip (2000; 23 min), City Walk (1999; 6 min), Outerborough (2005; 9 min), Who By Water (2007; 18 min), and Re:Awakenings (2013; 18 min).

March 1, 2018
“Breaking the Silence: Stories of Archival Activism in South Africa”
“Against Amnesia” guest scholar Debora Matthews will be giving a speech to the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council from 12:00 to 1:15 p.m. A locally catered lunch is available for purchase. The Iowa City Foreign Relations Council is located at 1120 University Capitol Center within the offices of UI International Programs.

February 21, 2018
Bill Morrison Film Screening Series
In anticipation of Bill Morrison’s visit to the University of Iowa, March 1-3, as part of the UI Provost’s Global Forum International Programs and Obermann Humanities Symposium, the Department of Cinematic Arts is hosting a screening series of a selection of Morrison’s short films. On February 21, the Department will screen The Miners’ Hymns (2011; 52 min) and Highwater Trilogy (2006; 31 min).

February 22, 2018
WorldCanvass discussion—Against Amnesia: Archives, Evidence, and Social Justice
WorldCanvass invites you to join us at MERGE, 136 South Dubuque Street, for season nine of International Programs’ unique, internationally focused discussions.  Live programs take place from 5:30-7:00 p.m., and the shows are free and open to the public. Don’t miss the catered reception from 5:00-5:30!

For photos, audio, and transcripts of this event, visit WorldCanvass Recap.

February 24, 2018
Iowa City Archives Crawl
Want to learn more about the archival resources available to the public in the Iowa City area? Join us for the 2018 Archives Crawl! Five local archives will be open to visitors between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on February 24:

• University of Iowa Main Library, 125 W. Washington St.
• University of Iowa Museum of Natural History, 11 Macbride Hall, 17 N. Clinton St.
• Iowa City Public Library, 123 S. Linn St.
• State Historical Society of Iowa Research Center, 402 Iowa Ave.

Each of the sites will feature short talks, “behind the scenes” tours, and tables with handouts and hands-on activities…including a “mystery objects” contest with prizes! Free and open to the public.

February 16–17, 2018
Dada Futures: Circulations, Replicants, Surrogates, Participants 
This two-day symposium and exhibition at the UI Museum of Art will celebrate the history of Dada and “neo-Dada”/Fluxus on campus. The symposium seeks to highlight how museums, libraries, universities, and the general public have shaped our understanding of avant-garde movements. Through a hybrid format of keynote addresses, themed panels, film screenings, and group discussions held on campus and in downtown Iowa City, this meeting will consider the power of interdisciplinary art and research evident in our past and aim to develop the practices that will sustain its future on campus and beyond. 

February 17, 2018
EX LIBRIS: The New York Public Library
FilmScene will be screening this new, award-winning documentary by Frederick Wiseman on Saturday, 2/17, at 10:00 a.m. Run time is 3 hours, 17 minutes.

September 11–December 29, 2017
25 Collections for 25 Years: Selections from the Iowa Women’s Archives
University of Iowa Main Library Gallery
An exhibition featuring 25 of the more than 1200 collections in the Iowa Women’s Archives as seen by those who have used them.

September 29–October 29, 2017
Iowa screenings of Saving Brinton, an enchanting 90-minute documentary that tells the story of a collection of 130 early nitrate films—including two once believed to be lost by the great French illusionist and pioneering filmmaker Georges Méliès—and the rural Iowan who discovered them and saved them from oblivion. For the dates, locations, and tickets for each screening, visit http://brintonfilm.com/screenings/.

November 10–11, 2017
The Iowa Women’s Archives at 25: A Celebration and Symposium
Participants will gather in the Iowa Women’s Archives to renew old friendships, explore the exhibition 25 Collections for 25 Years: Selections from the Iowa Women’s Archives, and reflect on the ways in which the collections of the Iowa Women’s Archives have enriched teaching and research over the past quarter century. View the full schedule at the link above.

UI Spring Semester Courses

Undergraduate course

HRTS:3905:0001 Topics in Human Rights: Archives and Activism
Crosslisted as IS:3905:0001

Instructor: Kelsey McGinnis (UI Center for Human Rights; Music)
Dates and times: Feb. 27–April 17, Tuesdays, 2:00 p.m.–3:50 p.m.

This course will examine emerging human rights issues from an interdisciplinary and international perspective. Students will visit campus archives for hands-on exploration of the UI’s many treasures.

Graduate courses

GRAD:7280 Obermann Center Special Topics Seminar: Archives, Power, and Social Justice
Crosslisted as HIST:7101:0001

Instructor: Beth Yale (History, CLAS; Center for the Book)
Dates and times: Feb. 1–March 8, Thursdays, 5:00 p.m.–6:30 p.m. The class will meet four times for 90 minutes before the conference and one time for 90 minutes afterward. Because the symposium is the heart of the course, attendance at the symposium is required. Off-cycle meeting times: 5:00 p.m.–6:30 p.m. on the following dates: 2/1, 2/8, 2/15, 2/22, 3/8.

This course is designed to prepare graduate students from any discipline who plan to attend the 2018 Obermann Humanities Symposium. The class will offer a cross-disciplinary introduction to current discussions of archives, archival practices, and archival thinking. 

CINE:7615:0001 Film Theory Seminar: Digital Dust: Archives and New Media 

Instructor: Paula Amad (Cinematic Arts, CLAS)
Dates and times: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:30–1:45

This seminar surveys the history and theory of archiving across print and audiovisual technologies, then focuses on the challenges to archiving in the age of digital media. Students will investigate the impact of digital archives across media, disciplines, archiving practices, and current debates, including the rise of the digital humanities, new media theory, philosophy of memory, copyright battles, ethics, and access.