The Humanities Plunge
Spring Break 2020: Take the Plunge!
FIVE CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF EXPERIENTIAL HUMANITIES IN CHICAGO
Music • Theatre • Art • Architecture • History • Dance • Neighborhood Cultures
The Humanities Plunge immerses students in Chicago’s rich cultural landscape with five days of theatre, art, music, architecture, and history, guided by scholars and artists.
- Open to all Northwestern undergraduates: all majors, years, and schools are welcome!
- Free!
- Half-course credit for Spring 2020
- Humanities Plunge dates: March 23-27, 2020 (spring break)
- Watch videos of some past Humanities Plunges here.
- Application deadline: January 27, 2020
- To apply, visit the Humanities Plunge application page here.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM PREVIOUS PLUNGES
2018 Humanities Plunge
The focus of the 2018 Humanities Plunge was considering how the humanities help us reflect on the ways that culture is presented, and how it is linked to a city's identity.
Monday - The Story of the City
Build a foundation for the week by exploring the ways that residents of Chicago construct the cultures of their neighborhoods.
- Tour of Chicago via chartered CTA train car with guide Bill Savage (Associate Professor of Instruction, English)
- Live lit reading and discussion with authors Megan Stielstra and Parneshia Jones at Women and Children First independent bookstore
- Walking exploration of Uptown and Andersonville neighborhoods
- Dinner at Ethiopian Diamond
We will think critically about the idea of a museum as a “neutral space” and the representation of indigenous and “ancient” peoples in a museum of “natural history.”
- Lecture on museum exhibits with Dr. Sarah Dees (Religious Studies)
- Guided tour of The Field Museum
- Lunch at Nellie's Puerto Rican restaurant
- Tour of National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture
Wednesday - Performance and the city
Explore and critically reflect on the relationship between performance, theatrical spaces, and the labor that goes into making the end result.
- Backstage tour of Chicago Shakespeare Theater
- Costume collection tour at the Chicago History Museum
- Dinner at Gino's East in Streeterville neighborhood
- Lookingglass Theatre production of Plantation!
Explore and critically reflect on improvisational comedy as history, practice, and performance.
- Lecture and workshop on Commedia dell’Arte with Dan Zellner
- Lunch at Reza's Mediterranean and Persian restaurant
- Improv workshop at Improv Olympic
- Dinner at iO
- The Improvised Shakespeare Co. performance
Friday - Socially engaged art
Critically reflect on the relationship between art and social engagement through an exploration of the history and importance of jazz and blues on the South Side of Chicago.
- Tour of The Forum Bronzeville led by Urban Juncture
- Bronzeville Incubator and lunch from Honky Tonk BBQ
- Jazz performance and Q&A with the Ernest Dawkins Trio
- Guided tour of Willie Dixon's Bluese Heaven Foundation/Chess Records
2017 Humanities Plunge
Monday - The Written and Spoken Word
The creative process of literary production from "idea stage," to manufacture of a printed text, to the performance of reading
- Storytelling workshop with Rives Collins (Associate Professor of Theatre)
- Letterpress and bookbinding workshop at Spudnik Press
- Live lit reading and discussion with authors Megan Stielstra and Parneshia Jones at Women and Children First independent bookstore
- Dinner at Ethiopian Diamond
Tuesday - Spaces of Art
The politics/history/aesthetics of art curatorial practices and exhibition
- Tattoo exhibit at The Field Museum with Mary Weismantel (Professor of Anthropology)
- Guided tour of National Museum of Mexican Art
- Pilsen neighborhood murals walk
- Lunch at La Cebollita
Wednesday - The Materials of Performance
- Lyric Opera of Chicago behind-the-scenes tour
- Chicago History Museum costume collection storage session and Making Mainbocher exhibit viewing
- Lookingglass Theatre Company production of Beyond Caring
- Dinner at Gino's East Pizza
Thursday - Improvisational Comedy
Exploration of improvisation/comedy as history, practice and performance.
Northwestern Library Archive Collections of Commedia dell'arte and - Improvisational theatre teacher Viola Spolin
- Improvisation workshop at The iO Theatre
- Performanc
- e by The Improvised Shakespeare Co.
- Lunch at Reza's Mediterranean and Persian
- Dinner at Opart Thai
Friday - Re-thinking the Humanities in Chicago Urban Spaces
Consider the relationship between Chicago neighborhoods and the arts therein to catalyze conversation about how we navigate the city, encounter its history, and experience the humanities
- Tour of Chicago via chartered CTA train car with guide Bill Savage (Associate Professor of Instruction, English)
- Tour the Rebuild Foundation and Stony Island Arts Bank
- Visit the Black Cinema House exhibit
- Presentation of documentary materials with filmmaker Bruce Orenstein
- Catered Dinner by Soulwich
2016 Humanities Plunge
Monday
- Tour of Chicago by Chartered CTA ‘L’ train, with guide Paul Durica of Illinois Humanities & Pocket Guide to Hell
- Garfield Park Conservatory
- Tour of The Plant (a collaborative community of agricultural and other food producing businesses in a repurposed meat packing plant)
- Lunch: Los Comales Taqueria #3 + Pilsen neighborhood exploration
Tuesday
- Introduction to Commedia dell’Arte and the Viola Spolin Collection at the Northwestern Library Archives
- The Second City improvisation workshop
- Goose Island Brewpub with Goose Island history by one of the brewers
- The Second City’s 104th Revue: Fool Me Twice, Déjà vu
- Lunch: Reza’s Mediterranean and Persian Restaurant
Wednesday
- Material history of the book presentation with Professor Jules Law
- Letterpress and Bookbinding workshop at Spudnik Press
- “Writing, Reading, and Publishing in Chicago” reading and discussion with authors and live lit performers Megan Stielstra & Samantha Irby at Women & Children First bookstore
- Dinner: Ethiopian Diamond
Thursday
- Gallery visit with contemporary music ensemble eighth blackbird
- Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago exhibition Pop Art Design
- Lookingglass Theatre Company: Blood Wedding by Federico Garcia Lorca + post-show discussion with members of the creative team
- Al fresco lunch: Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches
Friday
- Tour the Rebuild Foundation
- Stony Island Arts Bank archiving project
- Washington Park Arts Incubator tour
- eighth blackbird concert Ghostlight with Bonnie “Prince” Billy at MCA
- Lunch: Currency Exchange Café
- Dinner: Gino’s East of Chicago
2015 Humanities Plunge
Monday
- Chicago Architecture Foundation walking tour “Chicago Old and New: Intersections”
- Lunch at Reza’s (Middle Eastern) in Andersonville neighborhood
- Music Box Theatre and It Follows film; post-film discussion with Nick Davis (English, Gender & Sexuality Studies)
Tuesday
- “Histories of Botanical Illustration” with Environmental Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow Sheila Wille
- Botanical drawing class at the Chicago Botanic Garden
- Marie Antoinette at Steppenwolf Theatre; post-performance talk back with Derek Matson
Wednesday
- Introduction to Commedia dell’Arte and the Viola Spolin Collection at the Northwestern Library Archives
- The Second City workshop on fundamentals of improv comedy
- Dinner at Ethiopian Diamond in Edgewater neighborhood
- The Second City's 103rd Mainstage Revue
Thursday
- Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Doris Salcedo Retrospective
- "How To Get Power: The Seldoms Dance with LBJ and the 60s" with Michael Kramer (History)
- MCA Main Stage Premier of "Power Goes" by the Chicago-based dance company The Seldoms
- Dinner at Francesca’s on Chestnut (Italian) in Streeterville neighborhood
Friday
- Lyric Opera Chicago behind-the-scenes tour and sneak peek of new mariachi opera El Pasado Nunca Se Termina
- Chicago Symphony Orchestra “Beyond the Score” production of Brahms Symphony No. 3
- Dinner at Turquoise (Turkish) in Roscoe Village neighborhood