You may have heard the term “Balkanism.” It was coined by Maria Todorova, Edward William & Jane Marr Gutgsell Endowed Professor Emerita at Illinois, as a way to explain how the Balkan region in Southeastern Europe is perceived as...
The heart of the American Midwest was one of the most important ecological and cultural borderland areas in North America for Indigenous people in early American history, according to a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign historian. Situated in a transition zone between woodlands and grasslands...
The Native American tribes that once called Illinois home painted deer and bison hides with stories and symbols that were important to their culture. Some of the best examples of this artistic tradition – four painted hide robes made sometime between 1680 and 1750 – are now in the collection of the...
Campus has changed a lot in 80 years. In 1942, the Illini Union was just 1 year old, the State Farm Center was an empty lot, and Willard Airport was just a few hundred acres of farmland. Something else took root in 1942 that has only kept growing, however, and that’s the love shared by Solomon and...
The College of LAS is welcoming 38 new professors for the 2022-23 academic year. Their new positions range from clinical professors to assistant professors and an endowed position in more than 20 academic units, ranging from African American studies to economics, philosophy, statistics, and several...
New research indicates that the Black Death pandemic was already affecting Central Asia and East Asia a century earlier than its well-documented arrival in Europe. A special open-access issue of “The Medieval Globe,” a...
Four professors from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences have been named 2022 Conrad Humanities Scholars. Lucinda Cole, professor of English; Jenny Davis, professor of American Indian studies and...
Tamara Chaplin’s journey to uncover untold stories about French women’s lives began with a challenging tale of her own. She was a professional ballet dancer in New York and Canada until age 30 when she was injured and could no longer perform. Having focused her entire life on dancing, suddenly her...
Several professors have recently received named scholar positions for their contributions to research, education, and the academic mission of the College of LAS.
The named positions include an Aaron and Laurel Clark Scholar (for faculty members in humanities), an LAS Distinguished Professorial...
The College of LAS has announced 25 faculty promotions to take effect before the start of the fall semester. The Board of Trustees approved the promotions during their recent July meeting.
The promotions include seven faculty members who were promoted from associate professor to professor; 16 who...