Saturday, October 4, 2025
Undergraduates and friends of the humanities—you're invited to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s first ever Humanities Open House! Join us on Saturday, October 4, 2025, when we’ll be highlighting the best of the humanities on our campus, including academic departments, student groups, research, resources, and alumni stories.
While the activities and offerings will be designed primarily for current undergraduate students, we warmly welcome prospective students and anyone interested in learning more about the vibrant humanities ecosystem at Illinois
Resource Fair
11:00–11:50 a.m.
Location: Illini Union, Rooms B and C
1401 W. Green St., Urbana
Come for interactive info about humanities courses, majors, minors, certificates, student organizations, and career and other services, as well as a performance by special guests No Strings Attached a cappella group. Brunch will be provided.
Interactive Department Events
12:00 – 12:50 p.m.
Location: Literatures, Cultures & Linguistics Building ("LCLB")
707 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana
See a printing press demo and wellness robot, try a virtual reality language game, watch student lightning talks, and more. Note: the Moo Mobile ice cream truck will be parked near LCLB from noon to 1:50 p.m.!
1:00 – 1:50 p.m.
Location: University Library
1408 W Gregory Dr., Champaign
Catch some creative writing student readings, visit a pop-up library, have a virtual conversation with philosophers, see a Sappho exhibition, and try other immersive activities.
Alumni Event, Video Prize Announcement, Drawings, and Closing
2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Location: Lincoln Hall Theater
702 S. Wright St., Urbana
- Alumni panel: "What I did with my humanities major" - Jessica Berbey (English and Creative Writing '19; associate editor at DC Comics), Ben Branham (English '01; executive vice president of corporate reputation at Weber Shandwick, previously served as the CCO for The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey), Christina Brodbeck (History '01; currently a start-up investor, was a first designer/founding team member at YouTube), and Jennifer Mendez (East Asian Languages and Cultures '14; director, First Generation Student Initiatives at the Jeffries Center at Illinois). Latina/Latino Studies Professor Natalie Lira (also an alumna) will moderate.
- View select student videos and watch the prize announcement, as well as other prize drawings.
The Humanities Open House is a collaborative effort on the part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Humanities Research Institute, and the University Library.