Intercultural Lecture Series

Understanding, appreciating and celebrating cultural differences are critical to the well-being of individuals and communities.

As a key component of the University’s mission and core values, intercultural education helps to prepare students and faculty “for meaningful and ethical work in a multicultural, global society.”

The Honors Program organizes four annual intercultural lectures annually in a “Visiting-Scholar-for-a-Day” format. The current speaker lineup can be found on our Cultural Events webpage.

Event Archive

Established in 1996, this lecture is held each fall to coincide with Hispanic Heritage Month and is part of the University’s Hispanic Heritage Celebration.

DateTitleSpeakerDetails
9/12/23Chicagolandia How Latinos Remade the SuburbsAntonio RamirezLink
9/21/22There is No Line: Demystifying Our Complex Immigration SystemNubia WillmanLink
9/15/21Lessons Learned From My FatherPaul ChavezLink
9/23/20Noticing Immigrants Just Because of COVIDJorge MujicaLink
9/18/19Suited for a Cause From College Project to Social EnterpriseDavid Rojas JrLink
9/26/18Undocumented Student Acess: Mental Health Trauma, College Access and Immigration PoliticsTanya CabreraLink
9/20/17Structural Violence: How Mexican Parents' Immigration Status Affects Their Children's EducationPat Rubio Goldsmith
9/21/16From Exploitation to Empowerment: A Decade of Organizing in ChicagoShelly Ruzicka
9/23/15César Chávez: The Man, the Myth and the LegacyMiriam Pawel
9/22/14The Rights of Immigrants and the Duties of NationsEjuardo Mendieta
10/9/13Immigration, English Learners and the Future of Latino Educational AccessWilliam Perez
9/27/12From Cloning to Cell Therapy: A Life in ScienceLydia Villa-Komaroff
2011
2010
2009
10/2/08Comida de la Vida: Latina Activists Fighting for Immigrant rights in Washington StateMaria Cuevas
10/17/07A Culture in Transition: Latinos and the American MainstreamPhil Ponce
10/4/06Health Disparities Among the Hispanic/Latino PopulationAida Giachello
10/6/05The Fight in the FieldsRay Telles
10/6/04The Legacy of César Chávez: Paving the Way for a Multicultural EducationNancy Barcelo
2003The Changing Face of AmericaCarlos Cortes
2002The Core EnsembleTres Vidas,” a musical presentation
2001The Latino CenturyCharles Gonzalez
2000Latino Empowerment Through Art and CultureJose A. (Pepe) Vargas
1999Oh! Havana: Discussions on ExileDr. Rafael E. Saumell
1998Minority VoicesPat Mora
1997Being True To Your Voice: Empowerment for Latinos and WomenMaria Hinojosa
1996Latinos and the Building of a Multiracial DemocrayDr. Carlos Munoz Jr.

The newest of the University’s intercultural lectures, formally named in 2011, is held each fall to coincide with National Coming Out Day and is part of the University’s commitment to the history, issues and life stories of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.

DateTitleSpeakerDetails
10/11/23Telling Our Stories: Moving Illinois Forward for LGBTQIA+ JusticeMichael ZiriLink
10/19/22From Stonewall to the White House: Media as a Weapon for ChangeMark SegalLink
10/13/21Living Our Values How to Authentically Embrace Diversity, Equity and Inclusing as Individuals, Institutions and a CommunityJacqueline BoydLink
10/21/20Liberation Access: Neurodiversity and Disability Justice in LGBTQ2IA WorkAugust StockwellLink
10/23/19LGBTQIA+ Challenges: Inequities Across a LifespanMichael AdamsLink
10/17/18Canaries In a Mine: Trans Educators' Multiple Roles in Higher EducationScholar S. SimmonsLink
10/11/17Transitional LGBT Activism: Working for Sexual Rights WorldwideRyan ThoresonLink
10/10/15Abstraction, Art and Transgender CapacityDavid J Getsy
10/6/14Bullied: Youth, Gender, and HonophobiaC.J. Pascoe
10/18/13The LGBT Student and the Culture of Respect at Elmhurst CollegeEliza Byard
10/1/12The Science of Sexual OrientationSimon LeVay
2011
2010
2009
2008Joan Martin

This lecture, established in 1993, is held each winter to coincide with Black History Month and is part of the University’s annual Celebration of Black Heritage.

DateTitleSpeakerDetail
2/14/24Letters to Martin: Meditations on Democracy in Black AmericaRandal Maurice JelksLink
2/15/23Now is the Time for Critical Race Theory: Chaos, Community and Radical Propositions for EducationDavid StovallLink
2/16/22Ida B. WellsMichelle DusterLink
2/17/21Painful Past or Present Politics: An Examination of My Own Life in a Racially Polarized ChicagoSherry WilliamsLink
2/19/20Featuring the film documentary, The AreaNaeema Torres & Deborah PayneLink
2/20/19Blueprint for the Beloved CommunityBrad R. BraxtonLink
2/21/18Pastor of West Point Missionary Baptist ChurchL. Bernard JakesLink
1/13/17Dear Martin: How Do We Build Democracy in an Anti-democratic Age?Maurice Jelks
2/2/16Reframing King: Revolutionary Warrior for Justice and FreedomDavid StovallLink
1/29/15The Strange Eventful History of Young Soul RebelsDaniel McNeil
1/29/14We Shall Overcome… When?Shaun Harper
2/15/13Sustainable Justice for Maginalized CommunitiesSylvia Hood Washington
2/8/12Malcolm X: A Life of ReinventionWendy Wolf
2011
2/16/10Pastor of Chicago's Trinity United Church of ChristOtis Moss III
2/18/09Building a Multi-Cultural CommunityForrest Parker
2/19/08Lessons in LeadershipJulius W. Becton Jr
2007
2006
2/23/05Beyond the Dream: Working for Change in Communities of DifferenceMark A. Hicks
2004
2/17/03The Underground Railroad in IllinoisGlennette Tilley Turner

Established in 2002, this lecture is held each spring to coincide with Women’s History Month and is part of the University’s Women’s History Celebration.

DateTitleSpeakerDetails
3/6/24Dea Ex Machina: Using Feminine Images of God to Describe AIKristel ClayvilleLink
3/8/23Nuclear Accidents, Disasters and the FutureGayle E WoloschakLink
3/16/22Outsider-Within and the Politics of Belonging: A Womanist Reading Hebrew Bible NarrativesVanessa LovelaceLink
3/10/21In Pursuit of Justice: Womanist Non-Binary Perspectives About Intersectionality, Trauma, Lament and HopeLinda ThomasLink
3/18/20rescheduled for 3/10/2021 due to pandemicLinda ThomasLink
3/13/19Gender-Based Environmental Shame: A Problem for Everyone.Sarah FredericksLink
3/14/18A Surprised Queenhood in the New Black Sun: The Life and Legacy of Gwendolyn BrooksAngela JacksonLink
2017
2016
2015
3/20/14Gender, Race and the Future of EducationShannon Sullivan
4/25/13Narcissism: A DefenseLaura Kipnis
3/22/12Keeping the Feminish Promise: Women and Gender in HistoryEmily Swafford
3/8/11Taking Diversity SeriouslyMarla Brettschneider
3/16/10Scholar/AuthorLouis Knight
2009
2008
3/15/07War on the Family: Imprisoned Monters and the Children The Leave BehindNancy Pearcey/Dr. Renny Golden
3/9/06When Sisterhood was Poserful and Some of Us Were Brave: Race, Class, and Gender in Higher Education Then and NowPaula Rothenberg
3/2/05Sassy Women: Memory, Imagination, & Social ChangeJacqueline Jones Royster

An additional appreciation of diversity comes from the University’s Office of Equity and Inclusion through its array of programs and activities. For students interested in the academic study of diversity, the University’s Department of Intercultural Studies offers a major and a minor.

For more information about the intercultural lecture series, please contact Professor Mary Kay Mulvaney.

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