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Popular culture dominates our lives and deserves serious study. During the 2025-26 academic year, the Center for the Humanities is delighted to present “The Humanities and Popular Culture/Counterculture.” This yearlong series of lectures and events — on topics ranging from marching band music to basketball to Taylor Swift — will explore some of these fascinating and important intersections. Have fun and learn at the same time!
Fall Events
Make Loud! An Evening with the Extraordinary Rendition Band - Extraordinary Rendition Band
September 25, 7:30pm
Fine Arts Center Concert Hall & Livestreamed
Stories from the Soil: Collage, Culture, and the Black Rural Imagination - Nancey B. Price
October 9, 4pm
Hope Room, Higgins Welcome Center & Livestreamed
From Noble Savage to Tragic Chief: A Brief History of Natives in Pop Culture - Lee Francis IV
November 6, 5pm
Hope Room, Higgins Welcome Center & Livestreamed
Spring Events
Double Crossover: Gender, Media, and Politics in Global Basketball - Courtney M. Cox
February 26, Time TBD
Location: TBD
The Genius of Taylor Swift: A Crash Course on the Pop Superstar - Stephanie Burt
March 26, 4pm
Location: TBD
Why Shakespeare? - Jeffrey R. Wilson
April 23, Time: TBD
Location: TBD
The Center for the Humanities is grateful to the College of Arts and Sciences, Division of Research and Economic Development, Department of Gender and Women’s Studies, and Department of Philosophy for generously co-sponsoring this series.