UChicago News

Poetry After Kerch: Representing Jewish Mass Death in the Soviet Union

Wed, 23 May 2012 15:42 -0500

Harriet Murav, professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, discusses the history of Jews in the Soviet Union.

Omri Ben-Shahar on the "No Contract" Assurance

Wed, 23 May 2012 15:18 -0500

Omri Ben-Shahar, Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School and Kearney Director of the University of Chicago Institute for Law and Economics, discusses the place of “No Contract” assurances in the broader context of consumer protection and his ongoing work on the failings and promises of consumer law.

“No Contract” is a popular type of consumer transaction through which businesses lure consumers with the “no contract” assurance—a...

A Poetry Reading by Nikola Madžirov

Wed, 23 May 2012 15:01 -0500

Nikola Madžirov, poet, essayist, and translator, reads from his many works. He is one of the most powerful voices of the new European poetry. Born in a family of Balkan Wars refugees in 1973 in Strumica, R. Macedonia, he has written poetry that has been translated into thirty languages and published in collections and anthologies in US, Europe and Asia.

Madžirov has received the Hubert Burda European poetry award for authors born in East Europe, the Miladinov Brothers Award (the...

The Economics of Social Media

Thu, 17 May 2012 16:17 -0500

Panelists from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business faculty and social media industry experts from Groupon, Twitter, and others analyze the influence of social media and discuss how it is changing markets and business.

They answer the questions:

How does it affect individual and group decision making?
How can it overcome resource limitations as well as environmental and geographical constraints?
What will be the...

Poverty, Inequality, and the Role of Government

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:38 -0500

Evelyn Brodkin, associate professor at the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration, leads a discussion on the politics, practices, and possibilities of the government’s involvement and impact on poverty and inequality.

Brodkin also serves as a Lecturer in Law School at the University’s Law School, Faculty Affiliate at the Northwestern University/University of Chicago’s Joint Center for Poverty Research, and codirector of the Project on the...

Sam Zell on Economy, Law, and Entrepreneurialism

Tue, 15 May 2012 14:59 -0500

Sam Zell is one of the world’s leading investors in real estate, energy logistics, transportation, media, and health care. He and University of Chicago Law School Dean Michael Schill discuss the connections between and impact of the economy, law, and entrepreneurialism.

Zell currently serves on the JPMorgan National Advisory Board, the Eurohypo International Advisory Board, the President’s Advisory Board at the University of Michigan, and the Visitor’s Committee...

Food (In)Security: Why the 2012 Farm Bill Matters

Tue, 15 May 2012 14:45 -0500

Ken Cook, president and co-founder of the Environmental Working Group, discusses the enormous challenges as Congress begins work to reauthorize the omnibus Farm Bill. He touches on issues such as protecting land and water, spending taxpayer dollars on environmental programs, improving the quality of food, and enhancing federal nutrition programs.

Cook has helped develop every farm bill going back for more than three decades. The Environmental Working Group uses the power of...

Cosmos and Culture: Highlights of the UChicago/Argonne/Fermilab Joint Speaker Series Event

Tue, 15 May 2012 11:28 -0500

Rocky Kolb, UChicago astrophysicist, Paul Knappenberger, President of Adler Planetarium, and other experts discuss “Cosmos and Culture,” the fifth in a series of UChicago, Argonne and Fermilab Joint Speaker events.

Van Jones and Marc Bamuthi Joseph on a Green Future

Mon, 14 May 2012 18:00 -0500

Environmental advocate and former Obama administration advisor Van Jones and performance artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph discuss environment, race, social ecology and collective responsibility. This lecture is titled “At Your Own Risk: What Is To Be Done?”. Cathy Cohen, professor of Political Science at the University, joins Jones and Bamuthi’s conversation after the performance.

Jones served as green jobs advisor for the Obama administration and is the founder of the...

A canção no Brasil: Literature, Music, and the Brazilian Popular Song

Thu, 10 May 2012 15:25 -0500

Musician and scholar Jose Miguel Wisnik, with guitarist and writer Arthur Nestrovski, combined their academic, musical, and literary skills to create a blend between the classroom and the stage. The event showcased songs representative of the Brazilian songbook, including Vinicius de Moraes’ A Felicidade and Caetano Veloso’s Pecado Original.

Wisnik and Nestrovski incorporated literature and history to guide the audience through the formation of...