With a theme of boundaries, barriers, and barricades, the Humanities Research Group is looking to break down a few as it begins transitioning events from virtual spaces to in-person gatherings during Humanities Week, Oct. 25 to 29.

“Our diverse and broad selection of speakers will give talks on cities, slavery, borders, and intersectionality — all of which relate in some way to our theme,” says acting director Lydia Miljan.

An outdoor reception at 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 25, will feature welcoming messages from UWindsor president Robert Gordon and Cheryl Collier, dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, as well as a brief talk about the urban environment post-COVID by journalist and educator Shawn Micallef. Mina Wiebe will present her winning submission from last year’s Why Humanities? contest.

“We are hopeful that the weather will allow for the space for conversation and renewal,” says Dr, Miljan, but in the event of inclement weather, the reception will relocate to Alumni Hall.

The week’s activities will continue with:

• “She commonly wears a handkerchief round her head”: Expanding and Complicating the Concept of Creolization for the study of Transatlantic Slavery, a webinar by Charmaine Nelson at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26;
• “I just crossed the border, I didn’t make a crime”: Building a counter-archive of the Canada-U.W. Border, a webinar by Julie Young at noon Wednesday, Oct. 27;
• An online discussion with playwright Erin Shields about her work If We Were Birds, currently in production by University Players, at 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28; and
• A trivia quiz and the announcement of the 2021 Why Humanities? Winner at 12:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29.

Find details of these and other activities on the Humanities Research Group website.