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Public Humanities in Action: Project-Based Learning That Transforms Communities and Careers

October 21, 2025

Teresa Mangum
Teresa Mangum

Start time: 4:00 p.m.

End time: 6:00 p.m

Location: TBD

Join us for a lecture with Teresa Mangum, Professor Emerita at the University of Iowa.

Description

While scholars across the country have developed humanities research projects with their communities for myriad reasons, one unexpected benefit is that collaborative, project-based approaches to humanities research not only help clarify the values of the humanities but also train students in skills valued in any and all career fields. In the University of Iowa Press book series, “Humanities and Public Life,” that Teresa Mangum co-edits, authors describe fascinating original community-based research projects undertaken with their students. In this presentation, Teresa discusses the pedagogical values driving public scholarship, shares successful examples from her own teaching and the book series, and makes the case for the simultaneous teaching of humanities methods and career skills.

About the Speaker

Teresa Mangum is Professor Emerita at the University of Iowa, where she was Professor in the Departments of Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies and English, and served as Director of the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies for fourteen years. Mangum’s research interests include best practices in publicly-engaged scholarship and collaboration, 19th-century novels, age studies, and representations of humans’ relationships with other species. She recently directed a Mellon-funded initiative, Humanities for the Public Good, which helped faculty, staff, and graduate students redesign graduate programs in the humanities to prepare students for careers in diverse cultural spaces. With public historian Anne Valk, she co-edits the book series Humanities and Public Life for the University of Iowa Press. She continues to consult with faculty nationally about ways to weave public scholarship and career preparation into humanities programs, and serves on the boards of two community organizations, 5224GOOD and the Friends of the Iowa City Public Library..