The University of Illinois Springfield will host six Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speaker Series events during Spring Semester 2023. The series presents events that promote and adhere to the value of engaged citizenship, cultural awareness and respect for diversity.

ECCE events that are free and open to the public include:

• “Flamenco-Jazz Crosscurrents: A Musical Case Study of Intercultural Collaboration” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1, in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of the library. In this presentation, jazz saxophonist Brian Stark will outline the interaction of cultural forces during the evolution of the flamenco-jazz style, with a special emphasis on jazz musician Miles Davis. Flamenco guitarist David Chiriboga will provide further insights from his extensive flamenco training. Wendy Clinard will discuss her experience learning and teaching this Spanish style of dance. All three will then present a performance that combines traditional elements of both flamenco and jazz styles in a contemporary context.
• “Viewing Student Success on Campus Through a Historian's Lens,” a lecture and discussion, at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of the library. Jessica C. Harris, vice chancellor for anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion and associate professor in the Department of History at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, will discuss equity-centered student success as a critical focus of the present and future of higher education.
• “Free Speech for Engaged Citizenship: On Campus & Beyond,” a lecture and discussion, at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 1, in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of the library. This lecture will make the normative case for tolerating “the speech you hate” instead of calling for censorship, discuss how to address “hate speech” and how our world benefits when engaged citizens speak up. The presenter, Alex Morey, an attorney and a journalist, will encourage and answer tough questions on this topic.
• “Festival de Mujeres 1979: Window to Latina Actvis, in 1970s Chicago - A Pilsen Latina Histories Chicago Monuments Project Panel” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of the library. The presentation will explore the 1979 Festival de Mujeres, a street fair in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, the cultural and activist heart of the Mexican Midwest. Panelists include Diana Solís, a Pilsen-based teaching artist; Sarita Hernández, a salvadoréxican teaching artist, oral historian and print/zine-maker; and Hinda Seif, UIS associate professor of sociology and anthropology.
• “Ethical Artificial Intelligence: An Industry Perspective” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 12, in the UIS Student Union Ballroom. This talk will discuss different conceptions of Ethical AI. In particular, it will look at risks associated with algorithmic decision making, the practical tradeoffs between performance and explainability and how those risks and tradeoffs impact people as we work towards understanding ethical AI. UIS alum Doug Hamilton, a 2012 mathematics graduate, will present. He is the associate vice president, managing director and head of AI Research at Nasdaq.
• “The Future of Energy: Climate Change, National Security and How to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 26,in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of the library. An expert on the intersections of energy, climate policy and national security will explain what is at stake in this transition and how we can begin to make profound changes in energy policy and practice. This is event is co-sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Central Illinois.

For more information on the events, visit the ECCE Speaker Series website.