The Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society has announced nine new projects set to commence in the 2025-26 academic year. These projects bring together University faculty and researchers to tackle complex challenges through diverse methodologies, often integrating the arts into broader research inquiries. This year's cohort raises the total number of research collaborations supported by the Neubauer Collegium to 147.
Tara Zahra, the Roman Family Director of the Neubauer Collegium, highlighted the milestone theme: “The unifying concept for our 10-year milestone is ‘The Solution Is Human.’ It’s fitting that this year’s projects embody the conviction that humanistic research is central to understanding the world and changing it for the better. I am excited to see where these new initiatives lead.”
Starting on July 1, 2025, these projects will launch:
Arts Labs II will continue fostering a culture of experimentation and critical analysis around arts research on campus through five linked initiatives. Autonomy Is Not Freedom and the Sticky Ball will unite three North American land-based collectives to explore rights discourse in environmental politics using collaborative art-making.
The Case of the Human II aims to establish a comprehensive understanding of "the human" beyond medical or humanistic confines with case studies published in The Lancet, positioning Chicago as a hub for medical humanities research.
Humanistic AI will host workshops reimagining humanities research amid generative media advancements. The LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project examines dialogues between younger and older LGBTQ+ adults for improved life outcomes.
Linguistic Futures focuses on revitalizing endangered languages to advance sociolinguistic theory. The Political Theory of Labor Unions explores unions' structures amid growing worker interest.
Sonic Borderlands of South Asia integrates music and dance within a larger exploration of sonic encounters across South Asian borderlands as part of an International Balzan Prize project.
Translation Networks aims at comparative study groundwork between Arabic and Hebrew literature translations in Western contexts, developing digital resources to visualize text translation networks.
For more information about these research projects, visit the Neubauer Collegium website.