UF Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere

Day 2 of the ACH 2026 Regional Hub Watch Party brought together digital humanities, food history and a chance to taste the archive. 💻📚✨

Today, we gathered in the Digital Humanities Lab for more ACH sessions and a featured in-person presentation from Sarah Tew and Melissa Jerome of University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries: Recetas de las Américas: A Dataset of Historical Newspaper Recipes.

After the presentation, attendees got to try refresco de avena, a historical recipe found in Chronicling America. Made with oats, water, sugar and vanilla, and served cold with lemon, the recipe offered a delicious reminder of how digital archives can bring everyday histories to life. For this and more recipes like this check out the Recetas de las Américas website: https://recetas.domains.uflib.ufl.edu/

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Day 2! We’re excited to wrap up the watch party tomorrow with more conversations around digital humanities research, teaching and public engagement.

📍 Digital Humanities Lab, Keene-Flint Hall 0011 (snacks and refreshments in the Jerome A. Yavitz Conference Room)

📅 June 24–26

Day 1 of the ACH 2026 Regional Hub Watch Party is in the books! 💻✨

We kicked things off today in the Digital Humanities Lab with conversations around digital humanities, community, technology, and public engagement — including the keynote from Dr. Laura Gonzales on Community, Participation and Transborder Technology Design.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the first day! We’re looking forward to continuing the conversation tomorrow with more ACH sessions, featured presentations, and opportunities to connect with digital humanists at UF and beyond.

Don’t miss tomorrow’s featured session: Recetas de las Américas: A Dataset of Historical Newspaper Recipes by Sarah Tew and Melissa Jerome of Smathers Libraries at 11:30 a.m.

Check out the calendar for more info: bit.ly/CHPS-ACH2026 -- we look forward to seeing you there!

📍 Digital Humanities Lab, Keene-Flint Hall 0011 (snacks and refreshments available in the Jerome A. Yavitz conference room across the hall)

📅 June 24–26

We’re kicking off the ACH 2026 Regional Hub Watch Party tomorrow! 🎉

Stop by the Digital Humanities Lab as we watch sessions from the Association for Computers and the Humanities online conference together, make in-person connections, and celebrate digital humanities work happening at UF and beyond.

Come for one session or stay for the full conference — we’d love to see you there!

📅 June 24–26, 2026
📍 Digital Humanities Lab, Keene-Flint Hall 0011
🎤 Tomorrow at 11:30 a.m.: Keynote presentation by Dr. Laura Gonzales, UF English

Free and open to anyone curious about digital humanities. Please RSVP if you plan to attend: https://bit.ly/CHPS-ACH2026

Hilda is a PhD student at the University of Florida; she studies audience reception and fan cultures. Hilda believes that The Matrix (1999) and Jennifer’s Body (2009) became cult classics through how fans reinterpret and reshape them. She’s curious about the positive side of that creativity as well as the more complicated side. During this festival at the Hippodrome Cinema, she will introduce the films and host a talk back about how fandoms can both enrich and complicate a film’s legacy. Hilda’s opportunity for this festival arose from the partnership between the Center for Humanities and the Public Sphere at the University of Florida and the Hippodrome Theatre, both of which are committed to arts education in Gainesville. Hilda's film festival Take A Second Look: Cult Classics will happen on June 13th at 5pm, starting with the The Matrix followed by Jennifer's Body which will screen at 8pm.

What makes a cult classic? Find out at the Hippodrome Cinema on Saturday, June 13!

Take A Second Look: Cult Classics is a one-day film festival curated by Hilda Sheridan-Hewlett, an English PhD student specializing in Film Studies. Presented as part of Hilda’s CHPS Public Humanities Internship with the Hippodrome, the festival revisits The Matrix (1999) and Jennifer’s Body (2009), two films whose meanings and legacies have evolved through audience reception, fan culture and reinterpretation.

Hilda will introduce the screenings and host a talkback on how fandoms can both enrich and complicate a film’s cultural afterlife.

Don’t miss this chance to explore how audiences can reshape the legacies of beloved cult classics!

📅 Saturday, June 13
📍 Hippodrome Cinema
🕔 The Matrix at 5 p.m.
🕗 Jennifer’s Body at 8 p.m.

Tickets are available via the QR code and the Hipp’s website: https://thehipp.org/cinema

That’s a wrap on this year’s Humanities Writing Retreat! ✨

Over the past several days, UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences humanities faculty and graduate students across the humanities stepped away from their usual routines to focus, write, reflect and share space with one another. From quiet writing sessions to thoughtful conversations over lunch, the retreat offered time to reconnect with the work that can be difficult to sustain during the busy academic year.

We are grateful to everyone who joined us and helped make this week so meaningful. Thank you for bringing your ideas, energy and dedication to the retreat. We’re proud to support the humanities scholars whose research continues to ask important questions, tell vital stories and shape new ways of understanding our world.

Until next year! ✍️📚

Day three brought bright skies and even brighter ideas. ☀️✍️

We’re grateful for another meaningful day with our faculty and graduate students as they spent time writing, reflecting and sharing space in community. We even had a visit from an unexpected guest! 🐊🧡💙