important intellectual base to further develop this interdisciplinary field
The Early Modern Interdisciplinary
by engaging in the close study of recent publications, works viewed as
This reading group provides an intellectual forum for early modernists on
canonical, and works in progress.
campus. For this purpose, we define early modern studies as a field of
Contact: Adrian Burgos burgosjr@uiuc.edu or Jennifer Guiliano guiliano@uiuc.edu
inquiry encompassing the literature, culture, history, arts, and sciences from 1450 to 1800 in any area of the globe. We will discuss the latest,
Democratic Communications
overarching developments in scholarship on this period, as well as current
The study of democratic communications is a neglected tradition that in-
research interests. Participants are encouraged to make suggestions.
tersects multiple fields and contains rich opportunities for multidisciplinary
Meetings are structured around broadly conceived themes, e.g., early
research. Our reading group will draw from political theory, policy studies,
modern subjectivities, conceptualizations of space and territoriality, and
sociology, communications, history, and other areas to focus on the de-
global approaches to early modern culture.
bates involving the role and function of media in a democratic society. We
Contact: Heather Hyde Minor hhminor@uiuc.edu or Marcus Keller mkeller@uiuc.edu
will select readings that probe the normative democratic theories, critical historical junctures, and innovative policy paradigms girding democratic
Eastern European Reading Group
communications in their existing or ideal forms, from colonial newspapers
The Eastern European Reading Group is an interdisciplinary forum for
to the Internet. In an attempt to map the full trajectory of policy debates
the discussion of topics and issues related to the region of Eastern
from their genesis to current iterations, we will read seminal texts, ex-
Europe. During their monthly meetings, the group’s members discuss
plore recently published scholarship, and discuss reading group members’
new works of scholarship on the region and debate a number of
research in this area.
important historical themes related to the region. The interdisciplinary
Contact: Victor Pickard vpickard@uiuc.edu or John Anderson jander26@uiuc.edu
character of the group is an important stimulant to vibrant discussions that take place at these meetings. The group also schedules movie
The Drug War
viewing nights followed by discussions of the themes highlighted in
This reading group seeks to foster discussions of how individuals’ use
the movie. Finally, in the past, the group has invited visiting scholars
of certain psychoactive chemicals became conceptualized as a social
and writers to the gatherings at which these scholars could answer
problem of crime and deviance among targeted communities that is best
questions and participate in discussions of their works.
controlled through a “war” mentality. Readings will engage particular
Contact: Fedja Buric buric@uiuc.edu or Keith Hitchins khitchin@uiuc.edu
dominant and subaltern narratives that have emerged during the last 150 years, which taken collectively answer the question: how did we come to
Environmental History
wage a war on drugs? While answering this question, we intend to work
Environmental history is an area of historical research that focuses on
towards investigating alternative narratives that can be used to construct a
integrating the natural world into studies of the human past. It is also
different approach to public policy regarding drug use.
highly interdisciplinary in character, often soliciting scholarly contri-
Contact: Andrea Brandon sbrandon@uiuc.edu or Daniel Larson dmlarson@uiuc.edu
butions from geographers, historians, ecologists, and other natural and social scientists. This reading group hopes to promote interest in
Early America and the Atlantic World
environmental history at UIUC by providing a forum for community
Our group provides an interdisciplinary forum that focuses on the history
members to discuss theoretical, methodological, and particular issues
and culture of North America and the Caribbean, c.1500-1815. The idea
in the field and to present their own work to the group for feedback.
of an early modern Atlantic world shapes our intellectual approach to
Contact: Sarah Frohardt-Lane sfrohar2@uiuc.edu or Andy Bruno arbruno2@uiuc.edu
varied studies of colonization and its discontents. The expansion of Europe into the western hemisphere in 1492 initiated a dynamic exchange of
Family and Nation in Latina and Iberian Cultures
people, goods, and ideas that connected even the most peripheral places
This reading group aims to create a dialogue between two historically
to expansive networks. We meet to critique works-in-progress, discuss
converging and simultaneously diverging cultural and geographical
provocative new scholarship, and host visiting scholars. Research in com-
spaces such as Spain and the U.S. Hispanic Caribbean. In wanting to
parative empires, old world source cultures, and other themes that bear
re-establish a link across the Atlantic, we will study the connections
on Africans, Europeans, and Native Americans in conflict and encounter
and discontinuities among several literary and cinematic productions
throughout the broader Atlantic world fit within the purview of our group.
from the Iberian and the Latina/o Caribbean contexts since the 1990s.
Contact: S. Max Edelson edelson@uiuc.edu or Richard Ross rjross@law.uiuc.edu
We intend to focus on the construction of womanhood in relation to family, late capitalism, and national (re)configurations exploring how the protagonists of these cultural productions deconstruct tradition through corporeal mobility and desire. Contact: Irune del Rio Gabiola idelrio@uiuc.edu or
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María del Mar Soria López lsoria@uiuc.edu