Nancy "Rusty" Barceló Hay que resistir Hay que organizar Hay que agitar Hay que demostrar[1] Salvador Ramirez When Nancy “Rusty” Barceló first arrived from California to Iowa City, she only met another mexicano at the University. She recalls in an…
Read More Latino Native American Cultural Center: “A home away from home”
Maps are political. They can represent an entire country or a single block, and they can inform us as readily as they can obscure information from us. We can learn quite a bit about our communities and their histories by…
At the end of each semester, I ask my students to reflect on what they’ve learned and how they’ve grown in my course. Teaching the rhetoric course required of all incoming University of Iowa students, I know that many…
Ashley Dorn by Ashley Dorn “You get stronger every single day”: Learning from Iowa Women in Trades Iowa Women in Trades (IWIT) exists to connect and support women seeking or practicing a skilled construction trade. Jobs in skilled construction are…
Read More Getting Stronger: A reflection on the Iowa Women in Trades Network
One day, as I was walking downtown on my way to my car, my dad called me. He knew I was done with teaching and called to ask me something. I don’t even remember the details of our conversation. What…
Discussions about how fewer tenure-track positions in the humanities and the social sciences are becoming are well documented by scholars like Kezar and Maxey (2012) and Rodgers (2020). No doubt, this dynamic is a major feature of the current neoliberal era that…
Read More Strategies for Exposing Humanities PhD Students to Multiple Career Paths
How can research be expansive? What can research produce? I have been considering these questions this summer while working with Public Space One to investigate their newly acquired historic homes. As I was collecting and curating a selection of texts…
In 1943 the esteemed Abstract Expressionist painter Jackson Pollock completed Mural, both his first commission and largest ever canvas. Pollock’s technique was his earliest effort in what art historians call “action painting,” as he splashed, as opposed to brush, some…
Read More Let’s paint murals in Iowa City childcare centers!
“Oh, please tell me what my son will be,” my mother glanced anxiously from me to Ultima. “He will be a man of learning,” Ultima said sadly. “¡Madre de Dios!” my mother cried and cross herself. Bless me Ultima Rudolfo…
My first week at the Office of the State Archaeologist (OSA) was exciting for several reasons. I was in a new position, learning not only about my role as an intern, but also about the organization, their work, and…
When I finished my service as an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) member in 2017, I hated the concept of networking. At the time, I envisioned networking as a process of chatting people up to leverage their connections…
A Bird’s Eye View A. Ruger and Chicago Lithographing Co. Bird's eye view of Iowa City, Johnson Co., Iowa [Chicago Chicago Lith. Co, 1868]. https://www.loc.gov/item/73693398/. A bird’s eye view of Iowa City, printed by Chicago Lithographing Co. in 1868, depicts the…
To graduate students considering participating in a collaboration project: This summer I had the opportunity to be one of the graduate interns in the Humanities for the Public Good with the Obermann Center. Throughout my internship I have learned different…
Read More 5 Things I wish I had known before working in a collaboration
Imagine yourself at five years old, having a blast at your favorite park alongside friends and peers. Maybe you’re climbing the jungle gym, soaring high on the swing set, or traversing the perilous monkey bars. Perhaps these amenities were available…
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