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Humanities

Humanities Diptych image with book cover of "The New Internationals" and a headshot of English professor David Wright Faladé

English professor’s novel tells of love triangle in post-WWII Paris, based on his family history

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new novel by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign English professor David Wright Faladé tells the story of three people in a love triangle in post-World War II Paris. The characters in “The New Internationals” — a young French woman who has survived the Holocaust, a university student from West Africa and a […]

Humanities Rana B. Khoury, a professor of political science at Illinois.

Study: Civil organizing persisted during Syrian civil war

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Where, when and how did civilians organize during the Syrian civil war that started in the aftermath of the Arab Spring in 2011 and lasted until the toppling of President Bashar Assad in late 2024? According to new research co-written by a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign political scientist, civil organizing persisted during […]

Humanities Robert Morrissey and Charla EchoHawk

Paris research trip reconnects Native American tribes with historic painted robes

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign history professor Robert Morrissey traveled to a Paris museum in November to see four ceremonial robes created more than 300 years ago by Native American tribes in Illinois. The research trip included members of the Miami and Peoria Nations and it was part of a collaborative project, “Reclaiming […]

Humanities Portrait of Andrew White. He is standing in front of a screen displaying two images: on the left, a LiDAR image of Monks Mound in the ancient city of Cahokia; on the right, an artist's painted interpretation of what the city of Cahokia looked like in its heyday. The painting depicts Cahokia from an aerial perspective.

Are climate-related calamities erasing Illinois’ cultural history?

In a new report, scientists with the Illinois State Archaeological Survey describe how increased flooding, erosion and other effects of human-induced climate change are degrading many of the state’s cultural sites. ISAS research archaeologist Andrew White, a co-author of the report, spoke with News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates about the scope of the […]

Humanities Diptych image with headshot of Erik McDuffie and book cover image of “The Second Battle for Africa: Garveyism, the U.S. Heartland and Global Black Freedom.”

Illinois historian says Midwest played a crucial role in Black freedom movements worldwide

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Midwest played a central role in the growth of Black freedom movements in the 20th century. It was a key site for incubating and expanding the ideas of political activist Marcus Garvey, not only in the U.S., but globally, said University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor of African American studies and history […]

Expert viewpoints U. of I. political scientist Brian Gaines

What message did voters send this election?

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Brian Gaines is a professor of political science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Honorable W. Russell Arrington Professor in State Politics at the U of I System’s Institute of Government and Public Affairs. Gaines, who studies elections and public opinion, spoke with News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora about the state of the […]

Humanities Diptych image with book cover of "After Palmares" and a headshot of Marc Hertzman.

History professor’s book looks at Brazil’s longest-lasting maroon society, its influence today

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The largest and longest-lasting society formed by people who escaped slavery and their descendants endured for a century in northeastern Brazil, and it continues to be a potent political symbol of Black pride today. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign history professor Marc Hertzman wrote about the settlement and how memories of it survive […]

Humanities Diptych image with book cover of "The Promise of Beauty" and headshot of Mimi Thi Nguyen.

Illinois professor’s book explores the relationship between beauty and crisis

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Creating and nurturing beauty in dark times helps us endure another day. Beauty can help us appraise how we live and how we can build better lives. Its presence or absence is a critique of the social and political structures that are necessary to allow it to flourish, said Mimi Thi Nguyen, […]

Behind the scenes University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign student Nathan Knoll presents his response to a prompt as political science students navigate ways to defuse and open dialogue in a polarized political environment as part of the Richard G. and Carole J. Cline Symposium “Bridging Political Differences in a Polarized World" held on Oct. 24 at the Illini Union Ballroom.

Appealing to our ‘better angels’ with the Braver Angels

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — I’m sitting in the well-appointed Illini Union Ballroom on a sunny, late-October afternoon. My current mood: anxious. Sure, our 20th-ranked Illinois football team is taking on No. 1 Oregon this weekend, but that’s not on my mind right now. (Turns out my pregame butterflies were well founded.) Pre-election jitters are foremost, with […]

Business Bo Zhang, a professor of labor and employment relations and of psychology at Illinois

New research creates better tool to assess personality traits of job seekers

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — New research co-written by two University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign experts who study personnel psychology points to a better way of helping researchers and employers identify the differences in how people respond to personality tests. The tool — a hybrid of two existing measurement models called the “Mixture Dominance-Unfolding Model,” or “MixDUM” — could help human resources […]

Humanities Photo of Gerald McWorter seated in his home library with his wife, Kate Williams, standing behind him with her arms around his neck.

Professor, pioneer in Black studies, Black liberation movements donates papers to Archives

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The faculty and personal papers of Gerald McWorter, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor emeritus of African American studies and of information sciences, show the arc of a freedom narrative, from his ancestors’ founding of New Philadelphia, Illinois — the first U.S. town to be incorporated by a Black man — to […]

Humanities Scott Althaus

New book reveals Electoral College strategies in modern political era

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new book co-written by a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign political scientist explores the road to the White House through three distinct eras of presidential campaigning.

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