Upcoming Events

The Constitution of Japan, the oldest unamended constitution in the world, has become the focus of renewed partisan debate, with government leaders increasingly advocating for revision. However, whether this elite-driven initiative aligns with public sentiment remains uncertain. This talk examines the factors shaping civic support for and opposition to constitutional change by analyzing two key dimensions of constitutional legitimacy.

*If you registered before February 20th, please re-register with the new link. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Abstract:  The Constitution of Japan, the oldest unamended constitution in the world, has become the focus of renewed partisan debate, with government leaders increasingly advocating for revision. However, whether this elite-driven initiative aligns with public sentiment remains uncertain. This talk examines the factors shaping civic support for and opposition to constitutional change by analyzing two key dimensions of constitutional legitimacy. The first is procedural: do Japanese citizens view the origins of their constitution and the legitimacy of amendment debates as appropriate? The second is substantive: to what extent do the rights and institutions enshrined in the constitution align with public conceptions of an ideal state? Drawing on original surveys and experiments, this study sheds light on the evolving role of constitutionalism in Japan and its broader implications for democratic governance.

Register at the link above to attend the roundtable and join us in person at 306 Coble Hall.

About the Talk:

South Korea’s democracy has historically proven both resilient and turbulent. South Korea's mass pro-democracy movements of civil society drove the overthrow of dictatorship, culminating in the June Democratic Uprising of 1987, the 2017 impeachment of President Park Geun-hye and the most recent 2024 impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. On December 3, 2024, Yoon Suk-Yeol declared ‘emergency martial law,’ challenging South Korea’s democratic system. Although the country immediately lifted the martial law, the resilience of its democracy and civil society is still being tested. 

After a delayed impeachment process lasting more than three months, South Korea faces a critical juncture: Will its democracy continue to evolve as a model of civic engagement and institutional strength, or will deepening political divisions undermine effective governance? The Constitutional Court’s ruling on Yoon’s impeachment will be a decisive moment, shaping the trajectory of South Korean democracy or exposing systemic vulnerabilities that could erode public trust in institutions. 

In this roundtable, four Korean experts from UIUC will discuss the ongoing political turmoil and invite dialogue on the future of South Korea’s democracy.

About the Speaker:

Yujeong Yang is an Assistant Professor in the Political Science Departmen at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Her research focuses on comparative political economy, welfare policies, and labor politics, with a regional expertise in China (https://pol.illinois.edu/directory/profile/yujeong).

Anna Jungeun Lee is an Assistant Professor in the History Department at UIUC. She specializes in the cultural and economic history of modern South Korea, focusing on consumerism, gender roles, nationalism, and ideological narratives during periods of rapid development (https://history.illinois.edu/directory/profile/ajl548).

Seongjoon Ahn is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Political Science Department at UIUC. He will join the Department of Political Science at the University of Iowa as Assistant Professor in Fall 2025. His research focuses primarily on the variations in people's conceptions of democracy and their consequences (https://pol.illinois.edu/directory/profile/ahn43). 

Jinwon Lee is a Ph.D. Candidate  in the Political Science Department at UIUC. Her research focuses on international security, nuclear strategy, and alliance politics, particularly examining how peacetime military commitments shape alliance credibility and influence conflict dynamics (https://pol.illinois.edu/directory/profile/jinwonl3).

The Interdisciplinary Sport Studies Research Cluster is pleased to host Dr. Letisha Brown, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Brown will give a guest talk on her upcoming book titled, Say Her Name: Centering Black Feminism and Black Women in Sport, with Rutgers University Press 

Please join us to celebrate the book launch of LLS professor, Aja Y. Martinez's new book The Origins of Critical Race Theory: The People and Ideas That Created a Movement, co-authored with Robert O. Smith (University of North Texas). The book weaves together the many sources of critical race theory, recounting the origin story for one of the most insightful and controversial academic movements in U.S. history.  

Undergraduates of any major are invited to this informal lunch talk with Ross Gay, a New York Times bestselling author whose work embraces an exploration and celebration of the human need for joy and delight.

Ross Gay is the author of four books of poetry: Against Which; Bringing the Shovel Down; Be Holding, winner of the PEN American Literary Jean Stein Award; and Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, winner of the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. In addition to his poetry, Ross has released three collections of essays—The Book of Delights was released in 2019 and was a New York Times bestseller; Inciting Joy was released in 2022, and his newest collection, The Book of (More) Delights was released in September of 2023. 

Join us for a lecture in the Illinois Forum on Human Flourishing in a Digital Age Speaker Series with Christine Rosen. Her lecture "Defending the Human in a Technological World" will explore what it means to be human in a world that promises near-endless opportunities for virtual, disembodied experience. 

Join us for a public reading and book signing with award-winning poet and essayist Ross Gay, a New York Times bestselling author whose work embraces an exploration and celebration of the human need for joy and delight. This year marks the tenth anniversary of his collection Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude!

His most recent essay collection, The Book of (More) Delights, is described by one critic as “a wise, insightful, thought-provoking, and appreciative reverie on the complexities of the human condition.” 

Books will be available for purchasing and signing at the event. Please note: per the author's request, we ask that attendees refrain from taking photos (including selfies), audio, or video during the event and book signing. Thank you in advance for respecting the author's wishes! 

Ross Gay is the author of four books of poetry: Against Which; Bringing the Shovel Down; Be Holding, winner of the PEN American Literary Jean Stein Award; and Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, winner of the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. In addition to his poetry, Ross has released three collections of essays—The Book of Delights was released in 2019 and was a New York Times bestseller; Inciting Joy was released in 2022, and his newest collection, The Book of (More) Delights was released in September of 2023. 

Join us for a lecture from Dr. Robert O. Smith (Chickasaw), a professor at the University of North Texas, titled "Red Power, Black Power: Vine Deloria, Derrick Bell, and the Critique of Liberalism." His talk will explore prominent Native American intellectual Vine Deloria Jr.'s critiques of the civil rights movement and the foundational tenets of critical race theory from one of the movement’s founders, Derrick Bell.

World War Zoos: Humans and Other Animals in the Deadliest Conflict of the Modern Age.  Guest speaker John M. Kinder, Professor of History and Director of American Studies at Oklahoma State University, discusses his new book just out from the Univ. of Chicago Press on zoos, animals, and war.  https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/W/bo245346797.html

U.S.-China Relations:  How Did We Get Here, Where Are We Going

Speaker: Professor Dali L. Yang
Chair: Professor Matthew S. Winters

From confrontation to engagement to rivalry, U.S.-China relations have undergone a dramatic transformation over the past seven decades. This talk traces key patterns and turning points leading to today’s tensions over trade, technology, security, and global influence. As the two superpowers navigate a new phase of strategic competition and mutual suspicion, what are the major flashpoints, risks, and possibilities for cooperation? Offering a clear-eyed look at how we got here and what drives current policy on both sides, this talk explores what the future may hold for the world’s most consequential bilateral relationship.

About the Speakers: 
Dali L. Yang is the William Claude Reavis Professor of Political Science and Senior Advisor to the President and the Provost on Global Initiatives at the University of Chicago. He was founding Faculty Director of the University of Chicago Center in Beijing from 2010 to 2016. Among his books are Calamity and Reform in China (Stanford University Press, 1996); Remaking the Chinese Leviathan (Stanford University Press, 2004); and Wuhan: How the COVID-19 Outbreak Spiraled Out of Control (Oxford University Press, 2024). He is a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Matthew S. Winters is Professor in the Department of Political Science and Director of the Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum
April 17 (Thursday), 4:30. Reception to follow.

Hosted by Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures

Co-Sponsored by Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies, and Spurlock Museum

Kang Endowed Lecture with Professor Dali Yang (Univ. of Chicago) traces the dramatic transformation of U.S.-China relations over the past seven decades, from confrontation to engagement to rivalry. It focuses on key patterns and turning points leading to current tensions over trade, technology, security, and global influence, and explores future prospects. Sponsored by EALC; Cosponsored by CEAPS and Spurlock Museum.

The SKY Happiness Retreat is an internationally acclaimed life-skills program that helps participants develop a relaxed, stress-free mind and an energetic, healthy body. The retreat teaches tools such as evidence-based meditation, yoga, breathwork and self-exploration in a fun and an experiential format. Join us on campus for a detox-weekend! Fully funded for all UIUC students. 

Join us for a lecture by ethnomusicologist Olga Zaitseva-Herz on the role of music in Russia’s war on Ukraine. She explores how state-controlled and grassroots music scenes shape the war’s political and social dynamics. A postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alberta, Zaitseva-Herz examines music as a tool of resistance, diplomacy, and identity.

Join the Department of Philosophy for a lecture with John D. Norton, a distinguished professor at the University of Pittsburgh. His lecture "How the material theory of induction dissolves the problem of induction" will explore Hume's problem of induction and argues that attempts to revive the problem within material theory fail.  

At Spurlock Museum in the Knight Auditorium, Japan House is pleased to welcome Japanese calligrapher Seiran Chiba for a performance and lecture. Chiba's performance will be interactive with the audience and features musical accompaniment from Ho Etsu Taiko. Doors to the Knight Auditorium will open at 12:45PM. Registration is strongly recommended and seating is first-come, first-serve. Walk-ins are welcome if seating is available. 

Japan House is pleased to partner with the Spurlock Museum to feature the exhibition opening of Kogei: Traditional Japanese Arts and Crafts of Fukushima, Japan. The reception and artist meet and greet features Fukushima artists Seiran Chiba, Akie Hashimoto, and Ayako Hirai. There will be light refreshments served and visitors can mingle with the artists and view their creations. Reservations recommended, walk-ins welcome if space is available. 

Scholarly interest in British Black Power has grown over the last decade with the movement increasingly situated as a key conjuncture in modern British history and an important site in the global history of Black Power. Yet there is still more to know about how Black Power operated at the grassroots in communities across Britain; how people gave the movement meaning through their organizing efforts, political demands, intellectual pursuits and cultural practice; and the extent of the movement’s impact and legacy. This roundtable features a team of US and UK-based researchers working on a multi-year Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) supported project Grassroots Struggles, Global Visions: British Black Power, 1964-1985. Participants will focus on the use of community-engaged research methods to better document, preserve, and (re)present histories of anti-racist struggles in areas beyond the nation’s capital, including Leicester in the East Midlands and Manchester in the North West. The participants are interested in fostering broader dialogue about the character and ethics of community-engaged historical methodologies as well as their potential for strengthening ongoing activism, archiving, cultural, and educational work in the present.  

Join us for a lecture in the Illinois Forum on Human Flourishing in a Digital Age Speaker Series with Paul Scherz. His talk will examine the emerging field of precision medicine, which uses AI to identify risk factors, and will explore the effects an intensive focus on risk has on medicine, doctors, and patients. He will also suggests ways to implement AI that avoids ethical problems.

In this evocative conversation, MacArthur Fellow and award-winning artist Taylor Mac—a playwright, actor, songwriter, performance artist, director, and producer whose epic performance work, A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, was nominated for a 2017 Pulitzer Prize—speaks about centering queer stories, the future of  theatre in an uncertain world, and the power of transforming calamity into communion.(free; tickets required) 

Join us for an event exploring the Jesuit archives at the Jesuit University in Beirut. The archive includes memoirs, diaries, letters, and other documents that detail various aspects of daily life during The Great Famine from 1915 to 1918. Featured speakers include Dr. Christian Taoutel (Saint Joseph University of Beirut) and Dr. Marc Abou Abdallah (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign). 

Darius and Catherine Brubeck discuss their pioneering jazz curriculum and performance program developed in apartheid-era South Africa that brought black and white musicians together to create a soundtrack to the freedom struggle and its aftermath. South African jazz scholar and performer Colin Miller joins this conversation.

Join a captivating presentation and Q&A with Dr. Taeghwan Hyeon, the director of the Center for Nanoparticle Research in the Institute for Basic Science at Seoul National University in Seoul, South Korea. One of five honored recipients of the 2025 International Achievement Awards, he returns to campus to accept the 2025 Madhuri and Jagdish N. Sheth International Alumni Award for Exceptional Achievement. Optional RSVP. 

Photographers Ara Oshagan and Levon Parian will present a two-part art exhibit from their iWitness project at the Siebel Design Center in the spring culminating in a moderated talk at 5pm on April 24th at the Siebel Center. We will also showcase their exhibit at the Art Gallery in the Illini Union from April 10-May 31, with an opening reception on at 4pm at the gallery on April 25th.

Internationally known jazz pianist Darius Brubeck is joined on stage by University of Illinois students Adib Young (sax), Emma Taylor (bass) and Max Osawa (drums) in a two-set performance that showcases a wide range of jazz styles and offers the audience a chance to hear how jazz music has a universal connection and longevity. The program will consist of classic jazz standards like "Take Five," made famous by Darius' father, Dave Brubeck, as well as Darius’ own compositions and South African jazz.

Playing the Changes: Jazz at an African University and on the Road, by Darius Brubeck and Catherine Brubeck, was published by the University of Illinois Press in 2024. Darius will be discussing jazz education in South Africa in a presentation at Spurlock Museum on Wednesday, April 23, at 5pm.

Darius Brubeck's visit to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is hosted by the University of Illinois Press and sponsored by the Center for Advanced Study, in conjunction with the Center for African Studies, Humanities Research Institute, the Sousa Archive, Spurlock Museum, and Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

"Pansori Narrative and Cultural Contents" Sun Hyun Kim, Associate Professor, Sookmyung Women's University | "Reading activities for Chinese imperial examination scholars from the 14th to 17th centuries" Na An, Associate Professor of Chinese History, Jilin Jiangsu University

Many of us believe that human extinction would be catastrophically bad. Some of us believe that, among the events that are realistically possible, it would be the worst. But why? Part of the explanation is that it would frustrate many or most of the interests of the people who would be alive while it was occurring and perhaps, retroactively, the interests of people in the past. But if human extinction would really be as bad as many of us think it would be, the main part of the explanation must be that there would be no more lives with high levels of well-being when there could have been a vast number of such lives. This, however, suggests that there must be a moral reason to cause people to exist just because their lives would be worth living, and this is in tension not only with common-sense morality but also with widely accepted views in “population ethics.” The main aim of my talk is to present a variety of arguments against the common view that there is no moral reason to cause well-off people to exist just because they would have lives that would be good for them. If these arguments are sound, they should provide firm grounding for common beliefs about the badness of extinction.

Join the LAS Office of Research to learn more about grant support for faculty researchers in LAS. Our team will share information on pre-award services, such as budgeting, document review, and preparing for submission to SPA. This session will be particularly helpful for faculty without access to dedicated unit-based grant support staff. To learn more or register, click here. 

This panel convenes energy researchers and activists to reflect on lessons learned from the fight against the Dakota Access Pipelines, and on present-day issues in our energy landscape. Panelists John Albers (Advanced Energy United), Emily Guske (UIUC Climate Jobs Institute), Richard Stuckey (Save Our Illinois Land), Tabitha Tripp (Public Rail Now campaign and  SAFE: Southern Illinoisans Against Fracturing Our Environment)

Join us for a lecture by American composer and pianist Amy Williams. This lecture will be accompanied by the premier of Williams' Last Lines featuring School of Music Professor of bassoon Ben Roidl-Ward.

American composer and pianist Amy Williams will speak about her work, especially its connection to poetry, art, and dramatic literature, including artist Kurt Schwitters’ groundbreaking Ursonata (1922-32), Samuel Beckett’s radio play Embers (1957), and others. Professor Williams’ lecture will be accompanied by a concert featuring our bassoon professor, Ben Roidl-Ward, premiering Professor Williams’ Last Lines for bassoon and piano.

In conjunction with: Department of Dance, Department of English, Department of German, Department of Linguistics, Department of Theatre, Humanities Research Institute, School of Art + Design