Spring 2021 Programming

In response to COVID-19, much of Chicago Studies' programming will continue to be virtual for Spring 2021; scheduling of in-person events subject to change based on public health conditions. See individual listings for more details and registration information.

Download this schedule as a PDF

"Cities of Protest" is an Autumn 2021 CHST class.

2020 brought a series of crises to Chicago's collective experience: a new mayoral administration promising to challenge an entrenched city bureaucracy; the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic woes; an ever-worsening climate crisis and increasingly extreme weather; an increasingly toxic and unproductive political discourse all levels of society; and a long-overdue reckoning about systemic racism, accompanied by widespread protest and unrest. Our Spring Quarter programming, anchored by the final half of a distinguished lectures series, Chicago Futures, and a parallel series of Chicago Conversations, will explore the possibilities for change these forces have introduced into Chicago's future.

Chicago Futures will be supplemented by a new series, Chicago Outdoors, which explores the relationship between our world class city and the diverse ecosystems we inhabit with programming focused on all things urban nature. This series will cover a wide breadth of topics, from discussions on sustainability and climate change to outdoor adventures right here in the city! Join us for programming and events that consider the Chicago that yet may be, and the ways you can contribute to and even shape it.

Spring Quarter 2021

The Chicago Futures Project aims to open a space for the creation of informed counter-narratives for our city and ourselves, grounded in dialogue between academic and lived knowledges. What futures become imaginable for Chicago, in the light of recent scholarship about cities and the (eco)systems that they inhabit? What futures are being worked toward by our city’s communities and leaders, and why? And what futures can we envision for ourselves, as we each explore our post-2020 potential in the space of our world-class city?

Join Chicago Studies and Emily Talen, Professor of Urbanism for her presentation on The Post-COVID City. This lecture will focus on what the city of Chicago could be, if we took all the pandemic’s urban planning lessons seriously. This presentation is a part of our Chicago Futures series, a lecture series focused on imagining the future of Chicago through turbulent times. Register via Zoom.

Chicago Futures: The Post-COVID City Wednesday, March 31 | 4:10-5:30 PM CST

The Data in Dialogue series offers participants a "behind the scenes" look at a Chicago-relevant dataset, archive, or other resource for research about the city. As the work of Miranda Fricker and others have taught us, data are not neutral. How we construct our episteme—that is, what we consider to be knowledge and what we reject from consideration—is often as important to the conclusions we reach as the rigor with which we pursue our research methods and the incisiveness of our analyses. Sessions in this series will open critical conversations with Chicagoans responsible for making decisions about data at all stages in its "life-cycle," from collection to curation to publication to representation.

A spatial perspective isn’t (just) about making compelling visualizations, but also investigating how complex human-environment interactions impact the theory, design, methods, and infrastructure of research. Detangling how place impacts, interacts with, and/or drives factors of health outcomes for different people and neighborhoods is essential to reduce health disparities. In this talk Marynia Kolak, MS, MFA, PhD, will highlight recent projects (including the US Covid Atlas) with a focus on Chicago and share lessons learned around how this kind of research can best make an impact in policy and public spaces. Register via Zoom.

Data in Dialogue: US COVID Atlas April 6 | 4:10-5:10 PM CST

Join Chicago Studies for an interactive conversation where students and staff alike will have the opportunity to directly experience a deep dive into the ENERGY STAR data portal, and take a look at how the University’s environmental impact is displayed within the campus’ energy use benchmarking. This event is co-sponsored by the Program on the Global Environment and Environmental Frontiers. Register on zoom.

Data in Dialogue: E NERGY STAR April 19 | 4:10-5:10 PM CST

Vamonde is a virtual tourism platform that integrates multimedia content with your mobile device's geolocation capabilities to enable "adventures" through cities and sites around the world. For the 2020-2021 academic year, Chicago Studies is working with Vamonde to bring the city into the classroom, the dorm room, and even the home office...anywhere in the world! Curated by faculty, course instructors, students, and external partners, our content will expose you to new angles on the city we love (and miss, as COVID-19 continues to limit our ability to tour the city in person). Experience our adventures from your desktop, OR on-location in the city by downloading the Vamonde app (available for both Apple and Android phones).

Interested in campus sustainability? Join Chicago Studies and Environmental Frontiers for a tour of the campus utility plant! This virtual, self-guided exploration will include information on the many sustainability features of the plant that powers our Hyde Park campus. Check out the tour now!

Join Chicago Studies and Laura Letisnky, Professor of Visual Arts, for her panel discussion on The Abundant City. This discussion will focus on envisioning the potential fruitfulness of Chicago with local urban growers. This presentation is a part of our Chicago Futures series, a lecture series focused on imagining the future of Chicago through turbulent times. Register via Zoom.

The Abundant City Wednesday, April 21 | 4:10-5:30 PM CST

Spend your Earth Day learning more about how to protect one of Chicago's most important pollinators! We know monarch butterflies for their striking orange and black wings and impressive migratory journey from Canada to Mexico. They also play an important role as pollinators in ecosystems. But monarch populations are in trouble—they’ve decreased more than 80 percent over two decades, as their habitat of milkweed and nectar plants declines throughout North America. Chicago and other cities play a critical role in helping monarchs recover. Individuals, communities, researchers, and cities and government officials can all contribute to building urban conservation networks.

Join Chicago Studies for a special Earth Day presentation on monarch butterflies, their migration patterns, and their impact on Chicago's ecosystems. This presentation will also include information on the Field Museum's Monarch Community Science Project, an initiative that invites volunteers like you help collect data on monarch butterflies right here in the city, and includes a free plant giveaway!

Monarch Butterfly Community Science April 22 | 4:10-5:10 PM CST

Chicago Studies Conversations explore regionally important topics with Chicago-area residents, community and industry leaders, artists, and engaged scholars. Sessions are structured as open dialogues, facilitated by Chicago Studies staff to engage the ideas of as many participants as possible. At the end of each session, the interlocutors and Chicago Studies' team provide "next step" recommendations for further opportunities for exploration, study, or engagement around the issue at UChicago. Conversations are recorded and released as podcast episodes during the week following each event. Winter and Spring 2021 Chicago Conversations will explore the futures of key Chicago industries significantly impacted by the crises of 2020: local restaurants, nightlife, theatre, urban farming, small businesses, and the Chicago music scene.

This one-hour session will feature a live conversation and Q&A with Chicago area growers and producers about the evolution and future of urban farming in Chicago through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of our broader Chicago Studies Conversations and Chicago Futures series. The recording of this session will be released as a podcast shortly after the event. Register via zoom.

The Future of Urban Farming Friday, April 23 | 12:30-1:30 PM CST

Travel back in time to early Chicago to see how the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago reversed the Chicago River and developed wastewater treatment technology. Go behind the scenes and under water to see how MWRD transforms the water you use every day; descend 300 feet into the deep tunnel system, and watch the electrofishing crew at work sampling fish on the Chicago River. Register on Zoom.

The Deep Tunnel: A Virtual Tour April 27 | 11:20-12:40 PM CST

Join Chicago Studies and Micere Keeles, Professor of Comparative Human Development for her presentation on The Inequitable City. This lecture will address the perilous state of educational inequity in Chicago, as exposed and exacerbated by the pandemic. This presentation is a part of our Chicago Futures series, a lecture series focused on imagining the future of Chicago through turbulent times. Register via Zoom.

Chicago Futures: The Inequitable City April 28 | 4:10-5:30 PM CST

Chicago, a city known for its diverse neighborhoods, has a long and storied relationship with water. Beginning with the Native Americans use of Chicago’s water sources as a portage between the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes, to the historic engineering of the reversal of the Chicago River, to the popular lakefront and Riverwalk we enjoy today. But how do different neighborhoods view their relationship to Chicago’s rich water history? Is water an amenity or a potential hazard? Are its water resources accessible to all? How is water managed throughout the city and what are the challenges to certain neighborhoods and populations as infrastructure ages and climate threats intensify?

Managing Water for Equity and Resilience April 29 | 11:30-12:30 PM CST

Chicago Studies Conversations explore regionally important topics with Chicago-area residents, community and industry leaders, artists, and engaged scholars. Sessions are structured as open dialogues, facilitated by Chicago Studies staff to engage the ideas of as many participants as possible. At the end of each session, the interlocutors and Chicago Studies' team provide "next step" recommendations for further opportunities for exploration, study, or engagement around the issue at UChicago. Conversations are recorded and released as podcast episodes during the week following each event. Winter and Spring 2021 Chicago Conversations will explore the futures of key Chicago industries significantly impacted by the crises of 2020: local restaurants, nightlife, theatre, small businesses, farmers markets, and the Chicago music scene.

This one-hour session will feature a live conversation and Q&A with the owners of Andale Market, a small business located in Andersonville, a north side neighborhood known for its cultivation of small businesses. We'll discuss the ways in which they've adapted to the pandemic (and been changed by it), as well as the ways in which neighbors (and neighborhoods) contribute to the success of ventures like theirs, both now and in the future. Part of our broader Chicago Studies Conversations and Chicago Futures series. The recording of this session will be released as a podcast shortly after the event. Register via Zoom.

The Future of Small Businesses Friday, May 7 | 12:30-1:30 PM CST

Chicago spring is here in all its rainy, plant-blooming, weather-shifting glory, which means it’s time for some spring cleaning!

Now is a great time to get outside to clean up the trash that has collected over the winter before it interferes with new plant growth and give back to our campus and neighboring communities. Join the Phoenix Outdoor Program (part of College Programming and Orientation) and Chicago Outdoors (a new series from Chicago Studies and the Program on the Global Environment) for a campus and community clean up on Tuesday, May 11!

You can register for the event by filling out this form, which will prompt you to select a time to come and pick up a trash bag and gloves, both of which are compostable. Pick up will take place outside of Harper Memorial Library between 9 and 11 AM, and there are five slots available for each 10 minute pick up window. During the day, as you have time between studies and classes, you'll take your bag and gloves (and MASK!) to pick up trash around campus, on the Midway, in Jackson Park, in Washington Park, or anywhere else you might find trash!

When you're finished, you will drop off your trash bag at the same location between 3 and 5 PM. We will label your bag before you leave. Once all bags have been returned, we will do a weigh-in and the three people who gathered the most trash will win a house plant as a prize!

Questions? Reach out to Katie Igielski Welch at kwelch@uchicago.edu.

Campus & Community Cleanup May 11 | Pick-up from 9:00-11:00 AM CST

Join Chicago Studies and Luis Bettencourt, Director of the Mansueto Institute for his presentation on The Data-Driven City. This lecture will discuss using cities’ abundant empirical data to inform a more sustainable future in Chicago and beyond. This presentation is a part of our Chicago Futures series, a lecture series focused on imagining the future of Chicago through turbulent times. Register via Zoom.

Chicago Futures: The Data-Driven City May 18 | 4:10-5:30 PM CST

This year’s Harris Common Read delves into one of the greatest dereliction of duties in modern political history. What the Eyes Don’t See by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha is a firsthand account of the Flint water crisis and its effect on countless lives, revealing how misguided policies, failed democracy, and bureaucratic indifference placed an entire city at risk.

A pediatrician and social advocate, and the daughter of Iraqi immigrants, Dr. Hanna-Attisha chronicles her fight to help the residents of Flint, Michigan, through the use of science, medicine, and activism that eventually gained international attention – but only after experiencing much personal strife. Register via Zoom.

The Frizzell Family Speaker and Learning Series: A Conversation with Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha May 19 | 6:00-7:00 PM CST

Chicago Studies Conversations explore regionally important topics with Chicago-area residents, community and industry leaders, artists, and engaged scholars. Sessions are structured as open dialogues, facilitated by Chicago Studies staff to engage the ideas of as many participants as possible. At the end of each session, the interlocutors and Chicago Studies' team provide "next step" recommendations for further opportunities for exploration, study, or engagement around the issue at UChicago. Conversations are recorded and released as podcast episodes during the week following each event. Winter and Spring 2021 Chicago Conversations will explore the futures of key Chicago industries significantly impacted by the crises of 2020: local restaurants, nightlife, theatre, small businesses, farmers markets, and the Chicago music scene.

This one-hour session will feature a live conversation and Q&A with Chicago area musicians and venue owners about the future of Chicago's music scene, with a special focus on South Side musicians. Part of our broader Chicago Studies Conversations and Chicago Futures series. The recording of this session will be released as a podcast shortly after the event. Register via Zoom.

The Future of Chicago's Music Scene Friday, May 14 | 12:30-1:30 PM CST

The College's 2021 Chicago Studies Undergraduate Research Prize Colloquium will be held via Zoom live-stream on Wednesday, May 26 from 12:30-3:00 PM (CDT).

Chicago Studies is now accepting student, faculty, and departmental submissions for consideration for the Research Prize. Finalists -- chosen during weeks 6-8, will be invited to offer a brief presentation about their research as part of this event, which will also feature a welcome from Dean Boyer, a panel discussion with all the finalists, and the announcement of the Prize winner for 2021.

To submit your own work (or nominate that of a student with whom you've worked), visit our Undergraduate Research Prize page. Chicago Studies will accept student self-submissions through Monday, May 10, and faculty/departmental submissions through Friday, May 14. Register via Zoom.

Chicago Studies Colloquium May 26 | 12:30-3:00 PM CST

Join Chicago Studies for the return of our annual Southeast Chicago History Bike Tour (pending public health conditions, of course)! The tour is led by College Dean John W. Boyer and Professor John Mark Hansen, author of The City in a Garden: A Guide to the History of Hyde Park and Kenwood and docent of our Southeast Chicago Bike Tour on Vamonde. This tour will include sites from Jackson Park to the Calumet in a roughly 20-mile loop, with captivating views and fascinating historic information to help participants understand not only the present, but also the historical forces that have shaped South-East Chicago. Learn more.

Southeast Chicago History Bike Tour May 29

Join Chicago Studies and our partners for an old fashioned end-of-year, end-of-reading-period garden party in the courtyard of our new office space at 1155 E 60th St! (Pending approval for an in-person event, and subject to public health conditions.)