Humanities Week
October 21-25, 2024
Join The College's division of humanities in a weeklong celebration of the human adventure across time, history, culture and place.
Humanities Week opens the door to discovering how studying the humanities at Arizona State University can lead to a successful career, a fulfilling life and a more just world.
Thank you for joining us for Humanities Week 2024. Check out recordings below of the Marshall Distinguished Lecture with Dan-el Padilla Peralta and the humanities alumni panel, two of our signature events for the week. We'll see you next year!
Schedule of events
Monday, Oct. 21
Humanities Week Open House
10 a.m. | Durham Hall courtyard | Learn more.
Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz: A New Light on a Literary Legend
Noon. | Virtual | Learn more.
Humanities Week SILC Café: Korean
1:30 p.m. | Durham Hall lobby | Learn more.
Crip Critique: Spoken Word Narratives on the Lived Pasts and Imagined Futures of Work
2 p.m. | Memorial Union Alumni Lounge (Hybrid) | Learn more.
Tuesday, Oct. 22
Spanish Heritage Events: Spanish Heritage Voices
11 a.m. | Durham Hall 240 | Learn more and RSVP.
Brazilian Dance and Music Workshop
Noon | Durham Hall 240 | Learn more and RSVP.
Designing Planetizenship: Manifestos, Constitutions, Declarations, and Art as Tools for Building Inclusive Futures!
Noon | Memorial Union Stage and Hayden Lawn | Learn more and RSVP.
Humanities Week SILC Café: German
1:30 p.m. | Durham Hall lobby | Learn more.
Traveling to Romania: History, Politics and Culture at the Heart of Europe
4:30 p.m. | Durham Hall lobby | Learn more.
CAIS Film Series: Lion of the Desert
6 p.m. | Virtual | Learn more and RSVP.
Marshall Distinguished Lecture: An Evening with Dan-El Padilla Peralta
7 p.m. | Armstrong Hall, Roskind Great Hall (ARM 101) | Learn more and RSVP.
Wednesday, Oct. 23
Film and Media Studies Student Showcase
10 a.m. | Ross-Blakley Hall (room 117) | Learn more and RSVP.
Spanish Heritage Events: Spanglish Open Mic
11 a.m. | Durham Hall 240 | Learn more and RSVP.
Gene Wilder, Jewishness and Me: A Personal Journey with My First Movie Star
Noon. | Ross-Blakley Hall | Learn more and RSVP.
Humanities Week SILC Café: Spanish and Portuguese
1:30 p.m. | Durham Hall lobby | Learn more and RSVP.
Visualizing Chicano/a/xs: Photography and Prints
1:30 p.m. | ASU Art Museum | Learn more and RSVP.
ASU History Program Poster Show
2 p.m. | Lattie F. Coor Hall, First Floor Breezeway | Learn more and RSVP.
Humanities Week "Her" Movie Night
5 p.m. | Ross-Blakley Hall 197 | Learn more and RSVP.
Thursday, Oct. 24
Spanish Heritage Events: Latinx Cultures in the United States
11 a.m. | Durham Hall 240 | Learn more and RSVP.
Scavenger hunt at the ASU Art Museum with Migration Related Themes
1 p.m. | ASU Art Museum | Learn more and RSVP.
Humanities Week SILC Café: Japanese
1:30 p.m. | Durham Hall lobby | Learn more and RSVP.
Onigiri Action 2024
1:30 p.m. | Durham Hall lobby | Learn more and RSVP.
Worldbuilding Fall 2024 Distinguished Lecturer: Author Nick Fuller Googins
1:30 p.m. | Memorial Union Cochise Room and online | Learn more and RSVP.
Zine-Making Workshop
1:30 p.m. | Ross-Blakley Hall (room 117) | Learn more and RSVP.
Curator IRL XP with the Hispanic Research Center
3 p.m. | Hispanic Research Center A202 | Learn more and RSVP.
The brush is mightier: One man's mission to rescue art from the Taliban
3 p.m. | West Hall (room 135) | Learn more and RSVP.
Diaspora and the Korean Wave
4:30 p.m. | Memorial Union, Pima Auditorium (room 230) | Learn more and RSVP.
Friday, Oct. 25
Civic Activism in South Korea: the Intertwining of Democracy and Neoliberalism
10:30 a.m. | Durham Hall 240 | Learn more and RSVP.
So, what are you going to do with that?: Humanities alumni panel
11:30 a.m. | Memorial Union 207 and virtual. | Learn more and RSVP.
Humanities Week SILC Café: Vietnamese
1:30 p.m. | Durham Hall lobby | Learn more and RSVP.
Stellar Alumni Reading Series: Katie Berta and David Martinez
6 p.m. | Ross-Blakley Hall (room 196) | Learn more and RSVP.
Archived Humanities Week events
2023
All day | Hayden Library (2nd Floor)
The Exploring Censorship and Banned Books Collection is a curated collection of books, film and other media curated in partnership with ASU Library and the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies that address the topics of censorship and freedom of expression, along with those works which are considered “banned” by political groups and organizations.
8:30 a.m. | Hispanic Research Center
“Expresiones de identidad”: Contemporary Artwork from the ASU Hispanic Research Center Collection.
Featuring lithographs commissioned by the Hispanic Research Center and a selection of works from its personal collection with the theme of “La Mujer."
Open daily during Humanities Week, Oct. 16 through Oct. 20.
7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. | Phoenix Art Museum
Join us for the release of Fly: The Big Book of Basketball Fashion by Mitchell S. Jackson. This sumptuous, colorful book celebrates NBA fashion and the decades of cultural and political phenomena that bring it into being.
The author will be in conversation with renowned veteran NBA reporter Marc J. Spears.
10 a.m. to 12 p.m. | Durham Hall Courtyard
How can studying the humanities lead to a fulfilling life and a more just world? Come find out at the Humanities Week Open House, part of the third annual Humanities Week at The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
The open house will feature tables from The College's humanities academic units as well as several research centers within the division of humanities at The College.
Stop by at any time for free food, swag and interactive booths.
12 p.m. to 1 p.m. | Durham 202
Students from the Spanish heritage program in SILC will share their creative work such as poems or music that focus on their cultural identity and use of Spanish, English and Spanglish in the United States.
1 p.m. to 2 p.m. | Durham 240
The School of International Letters and Cultures, SILC, and the Asia Center at ASU invite you to join us on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023 at 1 p.m. in Durham 240 for our 2023 Humanities week event, Squid Games.
Based on traditional Korean games, the term ,Squid Games, became famous thank to the popular Netflix series with the same name. Now, you can come enjoy a more-peaceful environment playing games, winning prizes and having fun while enjoying Korean Snacks. Space is limited. Register now!
1 p.m. to 2 p.m. | Lattie F. Coor Hall, Room 4403
The Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics invites students and faculty to play, experiment, and discover using our Humane Tech Oracle Deck to explore our relationships with "the algorithm;" a mystifying black box we interact with every time we use our smart technology or engage in social media.
We also be sharing about our newest research project, Understanding Algorithmic Folk Theories: Tracing Community-Based Knowledge on TikTok, which was recently awarded a grant by the NEH Dangers and Opportunities of Technology program.
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Durham Hall Lobby
The School of International Letters and Cultures invites anyone who is searching for a place to come and get to know people from across the world or surround themselves with languages from around the globe.
SILC Cafe will be every day during Humanities Week with a different language department hosting each one — and a Sun Devil Rewards secret word each day!
Monday: German
Tuesday: Japanese
Wednesday: Vietnamese
Thursday: Arabic
Friday: Spanish
1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Ross-Blakley Hall (Room 117) or Online
The Linguistics and Applied Linguistics / TESOL Program in the Department of English at ASU presents this talk by linguist Jerry Lee, a professor in the Department of English at the University of California, Irvine.
The event will be presented in a hybrid format on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023 from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. in-person in Ross-Blakley Hall room 117, ASU Tempe campus and online via Zoom (registration required).
3 p.m. to 5 p.m. | Walton Center for Planetary Health (Room 107 and Atrium)
Join the Humanities Lab at Arizona State University for a late afternoon event designed to elevate youth voices in collective efforts to prevent violence.
Hear from public figures, scientists and students about what we know about school shootings. Participate in interactive activities designed to demonstrate the urgent need for innovative solutions.
3 p.m. to 5 p.m. | Durham 240
The Asian Center at ASU and the Graduate Education and Training in Southeast Asia, GETSEA, invites you to our Simulcast Film Screening & Discussion Session on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023 at 3 p.m. in Durham 240. This is a simulcast event at 15 universities across north America.
This film covers Myanmar's first and only country-wide environmental movement, how Indigenous women activists and punk rock pastors defend a sacred river from a Chinese-built megadam through protest, prayer and Karaoke music videos.
11 a.m. to 12 p.m. | Durham Hall (Room 240)
Tuesday
Experience and learn about Latinx cultures in the United States. Students taking 194 (Latinx cultures in the US) will participate and share their projects from their current course.
12 p.m. to 1 p.m. | Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing or Online
Come share your creative work at this open mic event hosted by Hayden's Ferry Review and the Thousand Languages Project.
We welcome poets, short story writers, and song writers/musicians and a microphone will be provided. Participants may share up to 3 minutes. Walk-ins may still sign up to participate.
1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. | TBD
The ASU Worldbuilding Initiative invites you to join us during Humanities Week to welcome our Fall 2023 Worldbuilding Distinguished Lecturer, Connor Alexander, lead designer of the award-winning tabletop roleplaying game Coyote & Crow.
In this interactive lecture and workshop, Connor Alexander will first introduce the world of Coyote & Crow, a sci-fi and fantasy tabletop role playing game set in a First Nations alternate future where colonization never happened, detailing the inventive and collaborative work that went into the game's design and launch.
Afterward, he will lead participants in a character creation workshop where students and other audience members can make their own Coyote & Crow characters to take home with them, working in collaboration with Connor Alexander, the Akinana Circle live play team, and other members of the audience.
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Durham Hall Lobby
The School of International Letters and Cultures invites anyone who is searching for a place to come and get to know people from across the world or surround themselves with languages from around the globe.
SILC Cafe will be every day during Humanities Week with a different language department hosting each one — and a Sun Devil Rewards secret word each day!
Monday: German
Tuesday: Japanese
Wednesday: Vietnamese
Thursday: Arabic
Friday: Spanish
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Durham Lobby
Did you know that Oct. 16th is the World Food Day? To celebrate, join us on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at 1:30 p.m. to make "Onigiri," the Japanese Rice Balls, and to take photos before enjoying your delicious Onigiri. By posting your photos on your SNS with #OnigiriAction, school meals will be delivered to children in needs! All the ingredients to make the Onigiri will be provided to you.
3 p.m. to 5 p.m. | Design and the Arts Library
Join the ASU Library for the inaugural David William Foster Memorial Lecture, featuring feminist immigrant educator, researcher, writer and activist Ángeles Donoso Macaya.
Macaya’s presentation, “Documentary Reverberations: Towards a Feminist Critique of Photos by/of ‘women’” will attempt to critically consider the theoretical and methodological problems that emerge when engaging jointly the notions of “visuality,” “women” and “Archive."
3 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. | Durham 240
Please join us on Tuesday, October 17 at 3:00 pm in Durham 240 to learn more about Korean language, film, and K-pop. As part of the Humanities Week, our PhD candidate from the School of International Letters and Cultures (SILC), Sue Hyon Bae, will provide a talk on modern Korean film. A discussion session led by Professor Areum Jeong (SILC) will follow to explore K-pop’s rising popularity in the U.S. The Korean Program looks forward to meeting with students who are interested in learning more about Korean language and culture!
7 p.m. to 8 p.m. | Armstrong Hall (Room 101)
Eddie Glaude is a passionate educator, author and political commentator. He has authored a number of books on Black communities, the difficulties of race in the United States and the challenges we face as a democracy. He has also written award-winning books on religion and philosophy.
He is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and Chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University and a contributor on programs like Morning Joe and Deadline Whitehouse with Nicolle Wallace. He also regularly appears on Meet the Press on Sundays and is a columnist for TIME Magazine.
10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. | Durham Hall (Room 240)
Spanish Heritage voices at ASU a round table discussion with former and current students to talk about their experiences in Spanish for heritage learners’ classes and what it means to them to have this space at ASU. The School of International Letters and Cultures offers seven heritage courses for students at different levels. If you are curious about what these courses offer, come join us!
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Ross-Blakley Hall (Room 117)
Film and Media Studies in the Department of English at ASU invites all to our Fall 2023 Humanities Week Open House.
We'll showcase work from FMS students and faculty, talk about upcoming courses, and provide opportunity for students and potential students to speak with FMS faculty and staff.
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Durham Hall Lobby
The School of International Letters and Cultures invites anyone who is searching for a place to come and get to know people from across the world or surround themselves with languages from around the globe.
SILC Cafe will be every day during Humanities Week with a different language department hosting each one — and a Sun Devil Rewards secret word each day!
Monday: German
Tuesday: Japanese
Wednesday: Vietnamese
Thursday: Arabic
Friday: Spanish
2 p.m. to 5 p.m. | Hayden Library (Room 236)
Join the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies and the ASU Libraries for visiting historian Radhika Natarajan’s discussion of her first children's book, Hear Our Voices: A Powerful Retelling of the British Empire in 20 Stories.
Students will have the opportunity to create book ban and censorship awareness buttons via the library MakerSpace, as well as explore the Censorship Collection, a new curated collection of books and media that focuses on debates over censorship and free-speech.
5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. | Old Main, Carson Ballroom or Online
In the case of "The Book of Will" by Lauren Gunderson, historical fiction illuminates historical fact. Discover how history was made with the publishing of Shakespeare's Complete Works. Arizona State University presents scenes from "The Book of Will" by Lauren Gunderson, a modern, comedic look at how the Bard’s plays became the First Folio.
Historian Helen Cam has said: "Historical fiction is not only a respectable literary form; it is a standing reminder of the fact that history is about human beings."
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Coor Hall Room 4403
The School for Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies invites you engage on-on-one with our current students and recent graduates who have been making an impact in public history research!
Students will showcase their projects by creating and presenting poster-sized visual representation of their findings, including the social and cultural significance of their work. The posters will be evaluated by a committee of faculty who will award fellowships to the winning students.
11 a.m. to 12 p.m. | Durham Hall (Room 240)
US Latinx cultures through social media (music, shows, movies) a teacher will present on Latinx cultures through different social media in the United States.
12 p.m. to 1 p.m. | Piper Writers House or Zoom
The book group is open to all in the ASU community and meets monthly from noon–1 p.m. with two different options for attendance: either in-person at the Piper Writers House or virtually on Zoom. Registration is required for online attendance. In-person attendees are invited to join the author for lunch after at the University Club, no-host.
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Durham Hall Lobby
The School of International Letters and Cultures invites anyone who is searching for a place to come and get to know people from across the world or surround themselves with languages from around the globe.
SILC Cafe will be every day during Humanities Week with a different language department hosting each one — and a Sun Devil Rewards secret word each day!
Monday: German
Tuesday: Japanese
Wednesday: Vietnamese
Thursday: Arabic
Friday: Spanish
2 p.m. to 4 p.m. | Pima Auditorium (Room 230), ASU Memorial Union
Join us for a presentation and conversation with award-winning Latina artist Cristina Cárdenas. Born and raised in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, Ms. Cárdenas is now based in Arizona. Two of her pieces, La niña de los espejos and Yo soy are featured in the ASU Hispanic Research Center’s current art exhibition.
4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. | Biodesign Auditorium (Room B105)
Please join us for the 2023 Environmental Humanities Initiative Distinguished Lecture by Elizabeth DeLoughrey, Professor of English at the University of California, Los Angeles: "Mining the Deep: Speculative Fictions and Futures."
The lecture examines the oceanic turn in the humanities, particularly what Gaston Bachelard once termed the “depth imagination.”
6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. | Marston Exploration Theater or Online
Jonathan Daniel Wells, author of "The Kidnapping Club: Wall Street, Slavery and Resistance on the Eve of the Civil War" and Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, author of "Children of the Land" will be in conversation with communities in and beyond ASU.
Join us as we reflect on vulnerability, borders, resistance, history, love, advocacy and justice.
6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. | Online
Son of Babylon won the Amnesty Film Award & Peace Prize at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival in 2010. This film is set in Northern Iraq two weeks after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Ahmed, a 12-year-old boy begrudgingly follows in the shadow of his grandmother. On hearing news that prisoners of war have been found alive, the grandmother is determined to discover the fate of her missing son.
10 a.m. to 11 a.m. | Durham Hall, room 105
Join us for a listening session of Brazilian popular music as we explore the role of songs in defending democracy in Brazil in recent years.
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Armstrong Hall (Room L1-30) or Online
"So, what are you going to do with that?" English majors, history majors, language majors and more have heard the question a million times. The truth is that you can do a lot with a humanities degree.
Join a panel of alumni from the humanities division at The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to hear their stories of where their humanities degrees took them and how their studies have positively influenced their careers.
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Durham Hall Lobby
The School of International Letters and Cultures invites anyone who is searching for a place to come and get to know people from across the world or surround themselves with languages from around the globe.
SILC Cafe will be every day during Humanities Week with a different language department hosting each one — and a Sun Devil Rewards secret word each day!
Monday: German
Tuesday: Japanese
Wednesday: Vietnamese
Thursday: Arabic
Friday: Spanish