Inspired by several organizations around the country that pair arts events with community dialogue, including Atlanta's Civic Dinners, Obermann director Teresa Mangum has cooked up a new series--a tantalizing combination of art, scholarly research, and community conversation. Think of it as an appetizer, main course, and dessert! The series kicks off on Sunday, Oct. 11 at 4 pm with the reading of A Refugee in Detroit--part of the UI Theatre's 6 by 6: Collected Perspectives on Social Justice series--and a talk by Jessica Welburn Paige (Sociology and African American Studies). Both the play and Welburn Paige's work reflect on Black challenges and resilience in Detroit. Participants will then move into small groups, sharing their own experiences and insights, in conversations facilitated by graduate students. "Many of us are struggling to process national and local events," notes Mangum. "I hope the Obermann virtual table can provide a welcoming, non-judgmental space where people of good will--however different their opinions--can reflect on present challenges and future hopes for our communities. All are welcome at this Obermann 'table'."

We were delighted to host the launch of Katina Rogers's new book, Putting the Humanities PhD to Work: Thriving in and beyond the Classroom (2020), in collaboration with the Futures Initiative of the CUNY Graduate School, Prairie Lights Bookstore, and Duke University Press. With more than 200 guests from across the country in attendance, Rogers--an administrator, researcher, and faculty member at the Graduate Center, City University of New York--and Obermann Center director Teresa Mangum held a wide-ranging conversation that included questions about whether there is an imaginary prestige bar that we're afraid to alter, and how diversity and equity affect who wants to be part of the academy. To the latter question, Rogers spoke about the kind of "tacit knowledge" that is often invisible to graduate students, such as how funding and personnel decisions are made: "There's such an imbalance in how one might navigate a university space if one has access to that knowledge or not. ...How might we pull back the curtain to expose some of those inner workings?"

The robust hour-long conversation did not allow Rogers to respond to the many questions collected from listeners in chat, so she graciously wrote a blog post in which she takes up topics such as the conflation of love and work, reward structures, and "rigor." Thank you so much to Katina Rogers, and to the many people who joined us!