Interdisciplinary Research Seminars

Hall Center seminars are open to interested faculty, staff and graduate students.

If you would like seminar paper password information, email hchseminars@ku.edu. You can sign-up to receive e-mail updates for individual seminars by filling out one of these forms.

Complete seminar schedules are available on the seminar schedule page.

If you are a seminar convener, you can fill out the seminar schedule and budget form here.

For other inquiries, please contact Hall Center Events Specialist April Walton at hchseminars@ku.edu.

Colonialism Seminar

The Colonialism seminar is co-directed by Robert Schwaller (History) and Christine Bourgeois (French, Francophone & Italian Studies).This seminar examines the history and legacy of colonialism in Latin America. Meetings provide an opportunity for a dynamic examination of hemispherical and transatlantic connections across four major themes: identity, territory, religion, and cultural production.

Disability Studies

The Disability Studies Seminar is co-directed by Ray Mizumura-Pence (American Studies), and Sherrie Tucker (American Studies). The Disability Studies Seminar will provide a much-needed forum for scholars to explore and share research on topics relevant to disability within and across the humanities, arts, and social sciences. Scholars within Disability Studies tend to recognize disability in terms of social construction and minority culture.

Gender & Trans* Studies Seminar

The Gender and Tran* Studies Seminar, co-directed by Katie Batza (Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies) and Marta Vicente (History and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies), explores gender as both a core concept in humanistic scholarship and a key organizing force in social life. It also examines trans* not only in terms of transgender identities and experiences, but more broadly as an approach to understanding how cultural, social, political, and linguistic systems have historically constructed and enforced hierarchical binaries—such as male/female, straight/queer, and human/non-human—across different times and cultures. At their core, both gender and trans* studies aim to expand humanistic inquiry by situating gender within a wide range of intersecting identities and-culturally and historically-shaped experiences.

The Humanities Out Loud: Music, Theater, Literature, and Culture

The Humanities Out Loud Seminar is co-directed by Araceli Masterson-Algar (American Studies) and Jonathan Mayhew (Department of Spanish & Portuguese). This seminar provides a forum for research that links music with other forms of cultural production employing the medium of sound, such as the oral performance of literary works. The goal is to explore a conception of the humanities oriented less toward the printed text and more toward performance.

Medieval & Early Modern Seminar

The Medieval & Early Modern Seminar is co-directed by Jonathan Lamb (English), and Caroline Jewers (French, Francophone & Italian Studies). The Medieval & Early Modern Seminar meets each semester to discuss original work relating to any aspect of the history, culture, literature, art, or society of any part of the world between c. 400 and c.1800.

Nature & Culture Seminar

The Nature and Culture Seminar is co-directed by Alex Boynton (Environmental Studies). Nature is our oldest home and our newest challenge. This seminar brings the perspective of the humanities to bear on past and present environmental issues. It includes research on the changing perception, representation, and valuation of nature in human life, on the reciprocal impact of environmental change on social change, and on the variety of ways we use, consume, manage, and revere the earth. Co-sponsored by Environmental Studies.