Friday, 11/18
VOV Gallery, First Unitarian Church, 5650 S. Woodlawn Avenue, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
Sales of items hand-crafted by Afghan women, including tapestries, rugs, and jewelry, will go to support access to education, micro-financing, and basic services. The church will also show a documentary tracking how women’s lives changed from 2005 to 2014.
The State of Nuclear Technology
Harris School, Room 142, 12–1:30 p.m.
Bob Rosner, the founding co-director of the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) and the chief scientist and director at Argonne Lab will explore the role nuclear technology might play in fighting climate change by displacing fossil fuels.
Cookie Johnson: “Believing in Magic”
Seminary Co-Op Bookstore, 1–2 p.m.
Wife of NBA star Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Cookie Johnson will discuss and sign her new memoir, Believing in Magic: My Story of Love, Overcoming Adversity, and Keeping Faith. The book explores her life’s experience with faith, marriage, motherhood, and HIV/AIDS.
Diplomatic Encounters: The Future of U.S.-Cuban Relations
Coulter Lounge, I-House, 2–3:30 p.m.
Miguel Fraga, the First Secretary at Cuba’s Embassy to the United States, will discuss how the still contentious but shockingly improved relationship between the two countries will move forward. Fraga is the first to hold his position since diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba were reestablished last year.
Seminary Co-Op Bookstore, 6 p.m.
Author Peter Orner will discuss his new book, Am I Alone Here?: Notes on Living to Read and Reading to Live, a collection of essays about living through reading and writing. He will speak with the Chicago Tribune’s literary editor-at-large.
Logan Center, Screening Room 201, 7–9 p.m.
Independent filmmaker Sarah Price will be speaking about her body of work, which includes documentaries, television shows, and commercials. Her film American Movie, which followed the production of an independent horror film, won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary. She will also preview her newest project.
Ida Noyes Hall, 8–11 p.m., $15, purchase tickets online
This event, hosted by the Graduate Council, is intended to provide a space where graduate students can relax, socialize, and have fun! Food, drinks, and music will be provided.
Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, 7:30–9 p.m.
Three of the University’s forefront choral groups will join forces to present this event. The Motet Choir, Women’s Ensemble, and University Chorus will each be performing a selection of traditional and modern choral compositions.
Reynolds Club, Room 016, 12–1:30 p.m.
This lunchtime event will offer a chance for RSO members to meet with staff of the Center for Leadership and Involvement to discuss available opportunities for their organizations. Attendees will also have a chance to meet with leaders of other RSOs to compare organizational strategies and discuss collaborations.
UChicago Hillel, 6–9 p.m., for students.
Hebrew University Professors Sarah and Guy Stroumsa will be joining UChicago Hillel for a dinner and subsequent discussion on how Abrahamic religions should be studied.
Conserving Industrial Materials and Processes in Art: Panel 1, Concrete
Cochrane Woods Art Center, Room 157, 9:10–10:40 a.m.
The first panel in this two-day symposium will discuss concrete in art and art preservation, with a focus on the “Concrete Traffic” sculpture, a 1957 Cadillac encased in concrete, which was just moved to campus. At 1:30 p.m. the symposium will move to the east entrance to the Ellis Parking Garage to visit the sculpture itself. Information about all of the events in the symposium can be found online.
CONNECT: Hyde Park Art Festival After-Party
The Promontory, 5311 S. Lake Park Avenue, 10 p.m.–2 a.m.
The CONNECT Arts Festival is a celebration of all artistic mediums. On Friday, there will be an evening reception at 10 p.m. at the Promontory. This party will feature jazz musician Kahil El’Zabar. Visit CONNECT’s website for more information about events throughout the weekend.
Saturday, 11/19
Things to Works: Ethical Challenges in the Care and Display of Industrial Materials
Logan Center, Room 901, 9:40–11:10 a.m.
The first panel on the second day of this two-day forum will return to the newly-installed sculpture “Concrete Traffic,” as well as artifacts of space history at the National Air and Space Museum. Information about all of the events in the symposium can be found online.
Mandel Hall, 8 p.m.–10 p.m., $5.
The Major Activities Board is hosting its annual fall showcase with Vince Staples, a prominent rapper from Long Beach, CA, headlining the evening. Doors close at 9:15 p.m.
Logan Center Performance Hall, 7–9 p.m.
The 45-piece Middle East Music Ensemble will be performing popular and classic Turkish music under the direction of Wanees Zarour. Admission is free, but donations are strongly encouraged.
The Science of Myths and Visa Versa
Seminary Co-Op Bookstore, 3–5:30 p.m.
Gregory Schrempp, professor of folklore at the University of Indiana Bloomington, will be discussing his The Science of Myths and Vice Versa, in which he explores the reciprocal relationship between science and mythology.
“Shared Eye” Exhibition Opening
5811 S. Ellis Avenue, 5–8 p.m.
The Renaissance Society will host a solo exhibition of Sadie Benning’s artwork, with a discussion of the artwork hosted by Benning and curator Solveig Øvstebø at 6 p.m.
Patient Perspectives: A Photo Journey of Tuberculosis in Peru
McCormick Lounge, Mandel Hall, 6–8 p.m.
A variety of media at this event will convey the experience of the patients of the Asociación de Personas Afectadas por Tuberculosis (ASPAT), an organization that fights tuberculosis in Peru. This event is sponsored by GlobeMed, a student organization that works with ASPAT.
Middle East Music Ensemble: The Music of Turkey
Logan Center, Performance Hall, 7–9 p.m.
The University’s Middle East Music Ensemble will perform a series of Turkish songs at the Logan Center beginning at 7 p.m.
African American Film Pioneers: Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.
Logan Center, 7 p.m.
Spencer Williams’ film Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A. adopts a short story by W. Somerset Maugham, which follows a Harlem-based nightclub performer confront her past at a Caribbean resort. Professor Allyson Nadia Field will introduce the film. Short films will accompany the screening.
Logan Center, 8 p.m.
Listen to fourth-year College student Isaac Friend perform Concerto No. 9 in E-Flat Major at the Logan Center. Friend came in third place in the University’s concerto competition.
Sunday, 11/20
Campus Sustainability Town Hall and Workshop
Stuart Hall, Room 101, 9:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
Members of the Student Government Committee on Campus Sustainability set up this event, which will give members of the University community a chance to engage with efforts to make the campus more environmentally friendly. Representatives of the administration and other groups on campus will attend. A light breakfast, coffee, lunch, and giveaways will be available.
Logan Center, 3–4 p.m.
Isaac Friend, who won third place at the 2016 University of Chicago Concerto Competition, will perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat Major with the University Chamber Orchestra. The program will also feature Gioacchino Rossini’s Overture to La Scala di Seta and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 in C Major.
Voices Heard: Black Women in Creative Music
Logan Center, Room 901, 3 p.m.
This is a pilot event in the Voices Heard series, which highlights the intergenerational musical expressions of Black women. Shanta Nurullah, a multi-instrumentalist and composer, will be performing in duo with Dee Alexander, a famous vocalist and composer.
War Stories Storytelling Session
Hyde Park Arts Center, 2–4 p.m.
Head on over to the Hyde Park Arts Center and listen to veterans and an Iraqi refugee tell their accounts of service in the military.
Logan Center, Room 901, 7–10:30 p.m.
This is the 20th anniversary of this yearly worldwide simultaneous storytelling event, featuring renowned tellers and musicians. There is a suggested donation of $20.
Seminary Co-Op Bookstore, 3 p.m.
Enjoy a musical performance and listen to a discussion on art, music, and poetry with Hannah B. Higgins at the Seminary Co-Op. Higgins is a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, but received her M.A. at the University of Chicago.
Monday, 11/21
Crerar Library, Computer Classroom, 12–1 p.m.
The library will be holding a workshop of how to use the desktop version of EndNote, a reference manager used to manage citations, PDFs, and create formatted bibliographies as you write your paper. Registration is required.
Liquidity Regulation and the Risk of Bank Runs: Why the Last Taxi Must Never Leave the Train Station
Harper Center, Room 104, 12–1 p.m.
Douglas W. Diamond, a professor at the Booth School, will discuss how financial regulations can ensure that banks have enough money on hand to weather bank runs.
The Social Origins of Institutional Weakness and Change
Foster Hall, Room 505, 12–1:30 p.m.
Professor Yanilda María González of the School of Social Service Administration will discuss the development of strong institutions and will examine the development of democracy in Latin America as examples of institutional building.
Stuart Hall, Cox Lounge, 6 p.m.
The campus conversation last year was largely defined by the successful passage through College Council of a resolution calling on the University to divest from ten companies its proponents considered complicit in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. The pitch for this event suggests that students who do not understand the larger Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement or what that campaign was pushing for can learn here.
Fourth Ward Aldermanic Meeting
St. Paul and the Redeemer, 4945 S. Dorchester Avenue, 6 p.m.
Sophia King has served as an alderman since Rahm Emanuel appointed her to fill the seat vacated by alderman Will Burns. The Fourth Ward includes much of Bronzeville, Kenwood, and the very northern fringe of Hyde Park.
Harper Memorial Library, Room 130, 6–7:30 p.m.
Learn about the scientific method and research opportunities with Dr. Nancy B. Schwartz, a professor of pediatrics and biochemistry. Food will be provided.
In Conversation: Marshall Sahlins
Seminary Co-Op Bookstore, 6–8 p.m.
Marshall Sahlins, a colleague of Claude Levi-Strauss and a professor of anthropology at the University, will talk with Michael Dietler, also a professor of anthropology at the University. Sahlins will read from his to-be-published book Still Waiting for Foucault, the third edition of a collection of anthropological satire.
McCormick Lounge, Mandel Hall, 6:30–7:30 p.m.
Christopher Nicholas Sheklian, an anthropology Ph.D. student, will unpack Turkish politics, including his concerns about the government’s stance on minority rights. He recently spent two years living with the Armenian community in Istanbul. The event is hosted by the student group Al Sharq: East Meets West. Dinner will be provided.
Treasure Island, Basement Reading Room, 7:30 p.m.
Listen to Carol Herzenberg discuss Their Day in the Sun: Women of the Manhattan Project, a book she co-authored. Herzenberg worked for decades at the Argonne National Laboratory and received her graduate degree at the University of Chicago. Her book tries to excavate the long-neglected role of female scientists in the creation of the first atom bomb.
Making the Most of the Library’s News Databases
Regenstein Library, Room 207, 10–10:30 a.m., registration required.
Learn about how you can gain access to a variety of news sources and their databases with this info session at the Reg.
Congo Square Theater Reading of The Warmth of Other Suns
Logan Center for the Arts, Room 801, 6:30–8 p.m.
Members of the Congo Square Theater will deliver a staged reading of Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns. The Congo Square Theater presents plays inspired by the African Diaspora.
Stories from the Campaign Trail
Ida Noyes Hall, Cloister Club, 6:15–7:30 p.m.
The Circus would probably be a decent name for a political documentary show for any election season, but this year proved to be an especially fortuitous year for its debut. Hear from Politico’s Mark McKinnon and Atlantic journalist Alex Wagner on the making of the Showtime program.
Tuesday, 11/22
Reynolds Club, McCormick Lounge, 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
There will be pet certified therapy dogs available to play with in Reynolds Club to help students reduce stress.
The Seminary Co-Op, 6–7:30 p.m.
Department of Art History's Niall Atkinson will be joined by Sarah Geis to discuss The Noisy Renaissance: Sound, Architecture, and Florentine Urban Life. The book considers how sounds like church bells helped people navigate pre-modern cities. This is the third event in the Urban Readers Series.
The 70th Annual Latke-Hamantash Debate at Mandel Hall
Mandel Hall, 7:30–9 p.m.
Listen to academics debate the superiority of the latke and the hamantash in one of UChicago’s longest and quirkiest traditions. Mandel Hall may be filled to capacity so arrive early to get a seat.
Thanksgiving Break Events (11/24–11/27)
The University may be closed, but the city of Chicago is as vibrant as ever! If you’re staying in town for the holiday, here are a few events to fill your brief respite from schoolwork.
Daley Plaza in the Loop, November 18–December 24
This annual holiday market offers a wide variety of handmade, traditional German goods. From festival food to hand-carved ornaments, this event is a must for the holidays in Chicago.
Thursday, 11/24
McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade
State Street, between Congress and Randolph, 8–11 a.m.
The McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade will feature equestrian units, marching bands, dancers, stage performances, and floats—including the iconic “Big Red Shoe.” Getting there early is recommended in order to reserve a good spot along the parade route!
Interfaith Thanksgiving Service
Rockefeller Chapel, 11 a.m.
This annual event brings together religious congregations from around Hyde Park. The Chicago Children’s Choir will perform. Donations will go to support local food pantries.
Friday, 11/25
Art Institute, Michigan Avenue entrance, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
At this annual event, the Art Institute will adorn the lion statues while the crowd sings carols and drinks hot chocolate. This year, the ceremony will be led by the Chicago cast of Hamilton and will feature a performance from the Soul Children of Chicago. After the event, the museum will host an array of art-making activities.
Winter Flower & Train Show at Lincoln Conservatory Opens
Lincoln Park Conservatory, 2391 N. Stockton Drive, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
The Conservatory will be unveiling its annual winter flower and train show. This exhibit, which will be housed in the Conservatory Show House, features model trains, which run past miniature houses nestled among the plants.
Lincoln Park Zoo, 2001 N. Clark Street, 4:25 p.m.
After you visit the conservatory, be sure to stop by the zoo! The annual Lincoln Park ZooLights will be switched on for the first time this season! These creative light displays flash in time to holiday music and illuminate the zoo exhibits.
Millennium Park, 6–7p.m.
Chicago choral groups will lead the audience in a selection of well-known holiday tunes. A Santa Claus will also be making an appearance—what a profile pic opportunity!
Saturday, 11/26
Randolph Street Holiday Market
340 W. Washington Street, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., ticket $5 with UCID
Randolph Street will be lined with vendors selling handmade goods. Gift wrapping will be provided, so this is the perfect time to get some holiday shopping out of the way.
Monday, 11/28
“Supremely Partisan” Book Signing
Seminary Co-Op Bookstore, 1:30.–2:30 p.m.
Listen to James D. Zirin, a lawyer who has participated in both state and federal trials, discuss his book on how the justices of the Supreme Court are becoming increasingly partisan.
College Republicans Ask-Me-Anything
Harper Room 102, 6-7PM
The College Republicans club invites the entire campus community to "come ask our members your questions, challenge us, and debate us." The club, which did not endorse Donald Trump, says that after the election many of its members were asked by friends and family to "explain what happened." Food will be provided.
Angolan Writer and Filmmaker Ondjaki–Victoria Saramago
Seminary Co-Op Bookstore, 6–7:30 p.m.
Author Ondjaki will be discussing his work, which was recently translated into English. He will be speaking with Luso-Brazilian Literature Professor Victoria Saramago.
Decoding 2016: David Axelrod with Joel Benenson and Sean Spicer
Quadrangle Club, Dining Room, 6:15–7:30 p.m., RSVP online.
David Axelrod will be hosting a discussion with the chief strategist for Hillary Clinton, Joel Benenson, and Sean Spicer, chief strategist and communications director for the GOP. The panel will focus on the recent election results and what a Trump presidency will mean for America.
