Three professors in the Music Department will be presenting at Arts & Humanities Day 2025: Steven Rings, Associate Professor in the Department of Music; Martha Feldman, Ferdinand Schevill Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Music and the College; and Paula Harper, Assistant Professor in the Department of Music and The College.
In a preview of his forthcoming book What Did You Hear?: The Music of Bob Dylan, Steven Rings will be discussing Bob Dylan's use of the harmonica in the 11:15 AM session. Martha Feldman will be presenting on the opera Medea alongside professors from the Classics and Theater programs and Lyric Opera musicians in the 3 PM session. Paula Harper will be examining the genius of Taylor Swift in conversation with Harvard professor Stephanie Burt during the 4 PM session. Learn more about their presentations below.
Arts & Humanities Day 2025 will take place on Saturday, October 18.
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Breathing Room: On Bob Dylan’s Harmonica
Presenter: Steven Rings
Location: Ida Noyes Hall - West Lounge
Time: 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
Associate Professor Steven Rings previews material from his new book What Did You Hear?: The Music of Bob Dylan. Steve will discuss the one instrument that necessarily stops the flow of Dylan's celebrated lyrics: the harmonica. As we will hear, this instrument creates “breathing room” in Dylan’s songs, a space to focus on sounding breath free of the word. In that breathing room, without the shiny objects of Dylan’s words to distract us, we can hear much: history, identity, emotion, and a kind of non-verbal eloquence—sounds that approach the condition of words, only to recede again into semantic indeterminacy.
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Lyric Opera of Chicago: A Conversation on Medea
Presenters: Sarah Nooter, Martha Feldman, David Levin
Location: ISAC Museum - Breasted Hall
Time: 3:00 - 4:00 PM
Chicago Humanities is partnering with Lyric Opera of Chicago to present Medea Opera Insights. Featuring distinguished professors Sarah Nooter, Martha Feldman, and David Levin from the University of Chicago’s acclaimed Classics, Theater, and Music programs, alongside the world-class artists bringing this rarely performed grand opera to life at Lyric, this event offers a rich blend of ancient storytelling and contemporary artistic insight. The conversation will shed light on how Medea, one of mythology’s most complex figures, is transformed through music and drama for the opera stage.
The event will open with a live musical excerpt from Medea. This will be followed by a 45-minute moderated panel discussion and will conclude with a 10-minute audience Q&A.
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On the Genius of Taylor Swift
Presenters: Stephanie Burt, Paula Clare Harper
Location: Ida Noyes Hall - Cloister Club
Time: 4:00 - 5:00 PM
Harvard professor and poetry expert Stephanie Burt speaks with UChicago’s Paula Harper about the artistry — and the celebrity — of Taylor Swift. Through heartfelt critical appreciation, Burt analyzes Swift, her body of work, and the community that her art has fostered. Drawing from her 2024 Harvard course, Taylor Swift and Her World, as well as from her years as a Swiftie, Burt examines Swift’s particular form of genius — not the destructive genius of tortured poets, but the collaborative and joyful genius of an artist who has mastered her craft. Tracing a path through the Eras, Burt’s newest work, Taylor’s Version, shows what Swift has created, how it works, and why her songs will endure.
This event is presented in partnership with the Seminary Co-op Bookstore. Pre-order Taylor's Version: The Poetic and Musical Genius of Taylor Swift through the Chicago Humanities Box Office and save up to 20% while supporting the Co-op.