Summer Seminars at UMass Downtown
Schedule
Wed Jun 17 2026 at 06:00 pm to 07:30 pm
UTC-04:00Location
108 N Pleasant St, Amherst, MA, United States, Massachusetts 01002 | Amherst, MA
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UMass Downtown and the UMass Amherst Graduate School invite you to the Summer Seminar Series, a new public speaker series connecting campus research with the community.Each Wednesday evening, UMass graduate student presenters will share their research, ideas, and work in an engaging and approachable format designed to spark conversation, curiosity, and connection. Each session offers a chance to hear directly from emerging scholars doing meaningful work across disciplines, with opportunities for discussion and community engagement.
Wednesdays | June 17–August 5
6:00–7:30 PM
Free and open to the public
Registration requested: https://forms.office.com/r/4wBPLj8jE0
Summer 2026 Lineup
June 17 | Genny Dorgan
A Female Voice in Medieval Academia: Mechthild of Magdeburg and Her Editors
Even though the medieval period is popularly known as the “Dark Ages,” academia as we know it was instituted during that time. Medieval academics were avid researchers of some of the most pressing questions of the day, such as: When would the end times begin, and what would they be like?
In this talk, PhD candidate in Comparative Literature Genny Dorgan will explain how medieval universities produced knowledge and discuss the rare case of a female writer, the thirteenth-century German mystic Mechthild of Magdeburg, who became an accepted source of authority on matters of theology.
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June 24 | Marcus Smith
Who Keeps History Alive? Black Grassroots Museums and the Fight to Preserve Memory
Have you ever wondered what happens to history when communities are left to preserve it on their own? Who bears the responsibility of preserving memory and history when those histories are absent from, or excluded by, formal archives and institutions?
Join us in exploring This Proud Home, a dissertation that traces how Black grassroots museums—often built in living rooms, historical structures, and contested landscapes—sustain and contribute to the long struggle for Black freedom.
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July 1 | Rozy Bathrick & Sebastian Moreno
From Flyway to Feeder: The Science Behind Bird Migration, Habitat Stewardship, and Public Engagement
Have you ever wondered where your birds go when they leave your backyard? Billions of birds migrate every spring and fall, flying thousands of miles through human-altered landscapes to chase resources and raise young.
Join Rozy and Sebastian, two UMass ornithologists, as they discuss scalable conservation from your backyard to the remote reaches of migration corridors.
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July 8 | Adam Eichen (Political Science)
Public Opinion on America's 250th: Insights from the UMass Poll
As American politics becomes increasingly contentious, with democratic norms and guardrails breaking down, politicians, pundits, and activists alike claim to have the American people on their side. But in these turbulent times, what do Americans actually want from the government? How do they assess Donald Trump's second term? How are they feeling about America on its 250th birthday? And what do the tea leaves say about the upcoming midterm elections?
Join Adam Eichen, PhD Candidate in the Department of Political Science and Lead Graduate Fellow with the UMass Poll, as he presents both newly released and historical polling from the UMass Poll, the university's nationally recognized survey organization, that begins to answer these questions and more.
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July 15 | Ruth Appiah Kubi
Co-Creating Systems of Care That Support Pregnant and Postpartum Individuals
What if every woman moved through pregnancy and birth feeling supported, safe, and cared for? What if positive experiences were the norm rather than the exception? Many women do—but not all.
A missed visit, feeling lost while trying to find support, or feeling unheard during the perinatal period can snowball into serious complications and, in the worst cases, contribute to preventable maternal deaths.These stories, both uplifting and painful, are happening in our own communities, and they deserve to be heard.
We invite you to join us in holding space for this range of experiences and imagining the care, support, community-rooted change, policy, and advocacy efforts needed to help every mother feel seen, safe, and cared for.
July 15 | Jeng-Yu Chou
From Detection to Policy: AI and Human Systems for Safer Digital Spaces
Is it possible to automate safety in a digital world where context is everything? What happens when technology evolves faster than our laws can keep up? This talk highlights two facets of digital safety, including how machine learning is being used to efficiently identify harmful content at scale, as well as findings from characterizing real-world activity and user-generated content on social media platforms.
Come discuss the intersection of technical innovation and real-world policy, and how evidence from research moves from the lab into decisions that shape safer online communities.
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July 22 | Alex Wilk
Tackling Climate Change in the East African Tropics: Using Ancient Mud to Predict the Future
Earth’s climate is changing rapidly, and its effects on human communities worldwide remain uncertain. How can we predict what’s coming next for those most vulnerable?
Join us to learn how UMass geoscientists are translating ancient chemical clues from the bottom of Lake Malawi into a scientific framework for tomorrow’s climate action, in tropical East Africa and beyond.
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July 29 | Kathleen Mahoney
Playing is Naturally Scientific: A Case Study of Outdoor Play-Based Science Experiences in Early Childhood Education
This case study examines how early childhood educators perceive and support outdoor play-based science experiences (PBS), and how those experiences are intentionally—or unintentionally—aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
The study also explores how educators use a sociocultural approach to establish intentional and explicit connections between play principles, scientific inquiry, and concept development.
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August 5 | Miranda Lutyens
Private Freewriting In and Beyond the Classroom: What Unedited, Unsurveilled Writing Does for College Students and Their Wellbeing
When was the last time you wrote for ten minutes, by hand, without stopping for any reason—especially not to check your phone? This is how Miranda’s first-year writing students begin every class session, yet they never revise, turn in, or share that writing. Instead, they reflect on the experience of private freewriting.
Join us to learn more about this practice and how, according to this research, it may be impacting students’ relationship to writing, to others, and to themselves.
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Where is it happening?
108 N Pleasant St, Amherst, MA, United States, Massachusetts 01002Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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