You might be surprised to know that football and the humanities go together like coffee and cream. The Big 10 Conference, formed more than 115 years ago, (now actually comprised of twelve teams) is known as much for its academic prowess as it is for its athletic accomplishments. It was with this in mind that Festival Artistic Director, Matti Bunzl, created the Big 10 initiative for techlknowledgē.
We’ve combed the Big 10 universities for the people you’ve never heard of who are doing the most innovate work on campus. This work ranges from dancers working with biologists to the latest studies on relationships in the age of social media.
When we mention the Big 10 initiative outside of the office, the first response almost always involves a comment about those universities being known more for football. Being a graduate of a Big 10 university myself, and a sports fan, it makes sense to me that the two go together. In fact, we decided that they should compete against one another. So, with tongue firmly in cheek, I will now rank the ticket sales of our Big 10 festival programs against their respective football team’s records, as of October 8.
I must admit that I didn’t expect these results to match up at all. However, both Illinois and Wisconsin, both still unbeaten on the field, have the two top-selling Festival programs. One of two Illinois programs features University President Michael Hogan and Catherine Davidson of Duke University in a conversation about the future of the Humanities leads the pack, second only to Wisconsin’s Digital Shakespeare program by Professor Michael Witmore (who was recently named director of the Folger Shakespeare Library). Professor Witmore’s program sold out in the first week of ticket sales and we were able to call an audible and ask him to do the program a second time. Witmore is looking as good as Wisconsin’s new quarterback. In Illinois's second program, Professor Rayon Fouché will touch on the technological developments that are everywhere in sports, and they continually change the games we love.
Closely following Illinois and Wisconsin is The Ohio State’s program Tomorrow’s History. In his Festival program, David Staley provides us with a front row view of history’s digital revolution. The Ohio State’s football team, however, is 3-3.
In the middle of the pack both on the field and in the Festival, and running neck and neck, are Purdue, with Can You Dig It—Technology in the Archeological Record, Michigan State with Good Food? A Philosophical Stance on Today’s Agriculture, Indiana with The Breakup 2.0, and Northwestern’s S. Hollis Clayson with Shedding Light on Art History. Northwestern actually has its own day as part of the Festival, coming up on Saturday, October 16. If you added all of their programs together they would be at the top of the standings, not a place they usually occupy on the field. (As a Northwestern grad, it pains me to write that sentence.)
Closing in on those four are Penn State with Boundaries of Life in a Biomedical Age and the University of Michigan. Michigan’s football team is still unbeaten. Their Festival program can come from behind with a Hail Mary Pass. It features U of M physicist Gordon Kane in conversation with choreographer Liz Lerman about their collaboration on her latest dance work, The Matter of Origins. (CHF is co-presenting The Matter of Origins at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Nov. 10-13.)
At the bottom in both in football results and Festival ticket sales are Minnesota with When Dancers and Biologists Collide, and Iowa, with Kate Gfeller’s Lend Me Your (Bionic) Ears. On October 29th these two teams face off in football and at the Festival on Saturday, November 5, their last two chances to come out on top of the other.
Come on Golden Gopher and Hawkeye fans! Purchase your tickets now and boost your team’s standings!
And, where, might you ask, is Nebraska is all this?
Since they didn’t officially join the Big 10 until this fall, after our tickets were already on sale, we didn’t include them. Just wait until next year Cornhuskers!
Tags: Big 10, Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa, Minnesota, Purdue, Ohio State, Northwestern, Penn State, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, sports, football
