UChicago Division of the Arts and Humanities

In 1453: The Conquest and Tragedy of Constantinople, Anthony Kaldellis, Ga***rd Donnelly Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Classics, offers a vivid new account of the fall of Constantinople and its lasting impact on world history. Drawing on eyewitness accounts in Greek, Latin, Italian, Russian, and Turkish, Kaldellis reconstructs one of history’s most consequential sieges in his new book.

Learn more in this review, authored by Kaldellis’s student:

Book Review: Not with a Crash but a Siege - The Real Story of Constantinople’s Fall - The Arts Fuse Anthony Kaldellis recasts the fall of Constantinople as a long process of attrition, shaped by strategy, fear, and the limits of Western indifference.

Three UChicago alumni returned to campus with Manual Cinema, the acclaimed theater company they helped found, to create Dream Delivery Service alongside students in the Theater & Performance Studies at UChicago (TAPS) program.

The collaboration gave students hands-on experience with an innovative performance style while offering the company a rare opportunity to experiment in an academic setting. Learn about their path to five sold-out performances and a truly singular theatrical experience.

How UChicago students staged a wordless play with an Emmy-winning company Undergraduates in Theater and Performance Studies produced an original work with Manual Cinema, a group with alumni roots

“Irish fiction has a long tradition of adeptly representing the quotidian—that’s what Ulysses is. [Sally] Rooney is able to capture the generational group and the socioeconomic group she’s representing in ways that feel real to readers.”

Paige Reynolds (AM’90, PhD’99), a leading scholar of Irish modern literature, argues that romance fiction can illuminate a nation’s sociopolitical history. Her Museum of Literature Ireland exhibition, Happy Ever After: Falling in Love with Irish Romance Fiction, traces the genre’s evolution from its origins to the present, revealing how romance engages questions of class, gender, religion, and race in modern Irish identity.

In a new conversation with UChicago Magazine, Reynolds discusses the exhibition and the enduring appeal of a genre often misunderstood by critics.

Read on:

Hearts and minds Paige Reynolds, AM’90, PhD’99, thinks romance fiction has something to teach us.

Why do we still care about Homer’s ‘Odyssey’—nearly 3,000 years later?

Ahead of Christopher Nolan’s ambitious new film adaptation, UChicago scholars explore why Odysseus’s journey home still resonates: questions of identity, belonging, endurance, and the influence of gods and fate. From casting choices to cultural impact, find out why this epic matters in today’s world.

Read the interview for insights on mythology, storytelling, and why the classics are never just about the past.

Why we still care about the ‘Odyssey’ Ahead of major film release, UChicago scholars discuss gods, heroes, casting and why Homer’s epic matters 3,000 years later

🎮 Play on! Meet three UChicago Arts & Humanities alumni who turned their passion for games into thriving careers—from designing for League of Legends to building educational games and indie RPGs.

Hear their stories, learn what inspired them, and get insider advice for breaking into the industry. Plus: see games these pros recommend for beginners!

Read the interview:

Play on | Tableau Tableau spoke with three Humanities alumni about their work in the games industry. Noor Amin, SB’23 (Media Arts and Design, Neuroscience), is a game designer at Riot Games, where she works on the online battle arena game League of Legends. Kellie Lu, LAB’16, AB’20 (Psychology and Creative Writ...

🌟 Celebrating 10 Years of Spotlighting Black Playwrights 🌟

Court Theatre’s Spotlight Reading Series marks a decade of bringing powerful, rarely-produced works by Black writers to the Chicago community. From staged readings & book clubs to film screenings and symposiums, this summer’s “A Century of Black Progress” honors Black artistry and the imminent completion of August Wilson’s American Century Cycle.

Don’t miss Ron O.J. Parson portraying Wilson in How I Learned What I Learned on Aug. 12, plus a vibrant slate of events across the city! All events are FREE but reservations are required.

Explore untold stories, history, and legacy:

Court Theatre marks 10 years of ‘spotlighting’ Black playwrights Spotlight Reading Series celebrates ‘A Century of Black Progress’ with summer slate of staged play readings, film screenings, book clubs and more

Did you know UChicago has its own language?

UChiconlang is a constructed language created by students of the UChicago Constructed Languages Society. The language takes inspiration from the traditions and quirks of campus life. With variations of “High” and “Low” UChiconlang (and an emerging pidgin called Piji, pronounced “fiji”), undergrads are drawing on numerous languages to devise its vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.

Read more in UChicago Magazine: http://ms.spr.ly/6182vNE2r

Classics professors share their insights on Christopher Nolan’s "The Odyssey," including UChicago’s Emily Austin highlighting how the film reflects the epic’s themes of leadership and homecoming.

I’m a Classics Professor. This Is What I Really Think of ‘The Odyssey’

On July 24, Once Upon a Time Called, Now! brings together Jess Atieno, Leslie Wilson, and Nekita Thomas for a dialogue inspired by the exhibition Sightlines, Ghosts, and Other Stories of the Impossible. Together they’ll explore architecture’s afterlives and the ways that built environments continue to influence lived experience and collective memory.

Sign up: http://ms.spr.ly/6186vNEIo

Join us July 23 for Poetry at the Pavilion on the Arts Lawn, a summer celebration of Chicago poetry at golden hour.

This month features readings by the city’s first Youth Poet Laureate, E’mon Lauren, and sonic and archival artist Harlem West, featuring selections from Chicago icons Jamila Woods, Patricia Smith, and Phillip B. Williams.

After the readings, stay for a guided writing session open to poets of all experience levels.

Register here: http://ms.spr.ly/6180vNEay