Why This Matters

This three-day gathering treats campus as a civic studio—connecting art, media, place, and dialogue to the daily practice of democracy. Expect practical tools you can use immediately in courses, clubs, and community projects.

Call to Join

• Bring a class for a single block—or curate a full track for your students.
• Invite a colleague or a community partner to co-attend and collaborate.
• See the program below, choose your sessions, and make it a hands-on start to a more connected campus and community.

Opening Night: Culture as Civic Glue (Thu, Sept 25)

Fred Meyer Lecture: Michael Greer on how arts and culture build belonging, identity, and civic participation.

• 5:00–5:45 PM — Opening Reception (Ballroom)
• 6:15–7:00 PM — Keynote: Arts and Culture as Community Cohesion
• 7:00–7:30 PM — Audience Q&A

Friday Highlights: From Classrooms to the Public Square (Fri, Sept 26)

Move from ideas to tools—public art, media, cultural mapping, and classroom practice.

Morning Sessions

• 9:00–10:30 AM — Creating Spaces for Civic Connection (SC301)
• 9:00–10:30 AM — Civic Murals in America, 1910–1940: The Italian Connection (SC304)
• 10:30 AM–12:00 PM — Education and the Civic Engagement Problem (SC301)
• 10:30 AM–12:00 PM — School Choice & Civic Virtue: Insight from Adam Smith (SC301)
• 10:30 AM–12:00 PM — Beyond the Broadcast: Public Media & Place (SC303)
• 10:30 AM–12:00 PM — Signals & Sound: Cultural Mapping of Music, Sports & Civic Identity (SC303)

Lunch Keynote (Ballroom)

• 12:00–1:00 PM — Trygve Throntveit: What Does “Civics” Mean? William James and the Civic Renewal of Education

Afternoon Sessions

• 1:00–2:30 PM — Mock Participation: Designing Civic Parks (SC302)
• 1:00–2:30 PM — Politics & the Everyday in “Middletown” (SC303)
• 1:00–2:30 PM — Lateral Reading & AI: Tools for Civic Awareness (SC304)
• 2:30–4:00 PM — Build Communities that Communicate: Secrets of Opera Singers (SC301)
• 2:30–4:00 PM — Country Reckonings: Theater, Environmental Democracy & Civic Imagination (SC301)
• 2:30–4:00 PM — From Conflict to Connection: Working Together in Divided Communities (SC302)
• 2:30–4:00 PM — Local Land Use & Effective Civic Participation (SC302)
• 2:30–4:00 PM — Cultivating Civic Virtue in the Classroom (SC304)

Saturday: Maps, Games, and Voter Know-How (Sat, Sept 27)

• 9:00–10:30 AM (SC301) — Creative Cartography & Community Engagement for the Civics Classroom (Melissa Gentry)
• 9:00–10:00 AM (SC301) — Beyond Civics Lessons to Understanding & Community (League of Women Voters of Indiana)
• 10:00–11:00 AM (SC301) — Welcome to Whitely-Opoly: Where Every Roll Tells a Story
• 11:00 AM–12:00 PM (SC301) — Voter-education tools and strategies for practical classroom use

Who Should Attend

• Faculty and instructors bringing courses or co-curricular programs
• Students and student organizations seeking real-world civic projects
• K–12 educators building America250 units and classroom civics
• Arts, culture, public-media, planning, and neighborhood partners

What You’ll Leave With

• Ready-to-use activities (civic mapping, media literacy, dialogue tools)
• Approaches to foster belonging and civic identity through arts & culture
• Models for participatory design and collaboration across differences
• Practical voter-education materials for courses and community settings

Accessibility & Requests

All rooms are accessible; CART available by request. To coordinate group/class attendance or accommodations, include your session choices and needs in your message.