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Newberry Seminar: Research in the Humanities

Chicago, Illinois

Location

Chicago

For over 150 years, people from all over the world have come to where the plains meet the lake, making Chicago one of the world's great cities. It has large communities of Irish, African Americans, Mexicans and Latin Americans, and more Poles than any city other than Warsaw. This mix of cultures makes the city exciting and unique.

Chicago has a rich collection of theatres, museums, concerts, and clubs; on any night you can find a symphony concert, a Broadway musical, a punk band, experimental theatre, and classic Chicago blues. The city is a mecca for architecture fans, with a world-renowned skyline and fascinating details.

Chicago's neighborhoods are diverse and lively, with busy streets and lots of things to do. But the city can also be peaceful and beautiful, especially alongside Lake Michigan, with its beaches and running paths.

Newberry seminar participants live and work in the Gold Coast neighborhood, one of the city's wealthiest. Here students find quiet streets and classic rowhouses. But it's only steps to Rush Street -- a leading nightlife district -- and the Magnificent Mile, with the city's finest shopping. The program's apartments are close to a variety of restaurants and coffee bars; a full-service grocery store is close by. The Newberry Library, where the seminar meets and participants work, is a few blocks away. Also close by is a subway stop, which can take students to the rest of the city.

Chicago has lots to do.  For example:

  • Free jazz festival over Labor Day weekend
  • Exploring diverse neighborhoods
  • Live performance at a blues club
  • Swimming in Lake Michigan
  • The Impressionists collection at the Art Institute
  • The dolphins at the Shedd Aquarium
  • Architecture tour from the Chicago River
  • Cubs and White Sox games
  • Unusual movies at the Music Box Theatre
  • A Polish sausage and fries at Gold Coast Dogs

Before students arrive, ACM will send a student handbook listing things worth checking out.

Newberry Seminar: Research in the Humanities

Jennie Morrison The Newberry is an ideal environment to challenge one's intellectual limits. The first time we met as a group, our professors emphasized the strength and quirkiness of the Newberry's “community of scholars." During the course of the semester I was continually amazed by the amount of partnership and collaboration that took place not only within our seminar, but also within the library as a whole. As I got more and more involved in my research, I found myself bouncing ideas off of a variety of individuals: from classmates to professors to librarians. Moreover, scholars within the library are unbelievably accessible. It’s also impossible to overemphasize the amazing location of the program- I still glow when I talk about my semester in Chicago.

—Jennie Morrison, Newberry Seminar in the Humanities, Fall 2007

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