Inspired by Brenda Child's research, Google commissioned a "doodle" honoring the jingle dress, a 100-year-old American-Indian tradition with roots in MN. "It is still empowering women in their communities today," says Child, the leading authority on the jingle dress.

The relationship between music and philosophy has been a topic of discussion since the emergence of ancient philosophy. Recently named a McKnight Presidential Fellow, Michael Gallope explores how the ineffability of music inspires philosophers to address strange and perplexing questions relevant to modern social life.

Gaye Theresa Johnson, a former student of David Noble, American Studies alumna, and associate professor at UCLA will give the David Noble Lecture this year. Her lecture will revisit the arguments in two of Noble’s books, The End of American History and Death of a Nation for understanding history and culture, how our perceptions of them have changed since he wrote them, and to remind us of the strength we have in our communities.

Music journalist turned PhD student Matthew Tchepikova-Treon is particularly fascinated by how disenfranchised artists, laborers, and communities began participating in cultural production through exploitation cinema—something that was mostly unavailable to them prior to the 1970s. These “trash films” aren’t just a simple form of cheap entertainment.