April 23-24, 2026
Humanities Symposium
The Humanities Symposium is an annual celebration of undergraduate research in the humanities and related fields. Students will present their research for audiences of their peers, faculty and community members.
When: April 23-24 during Show Me Research Week
Where: Bond Life Sciences Center, Room 572
The Humanities Symposium and all Show Me Research Week events are free and open to the community.
Before the Symposium
In advance of the Symposium, two faculty-led workshops will be held to help students with the multi-stage process of both proposing and presenting:
Developing Humanities Research Proposals
Tuesday, March 3 | 3:30-5 p.m. | Room 312A, Arts & Science Building
Presenting Humanities Research
Thursday, April 9 | 3:30-5 p.m. | Room 312A, Arts & Science Building
Keynote Lecture
Register for the KeynoteBabel Rousers: The 900-year quest to build a better language
When: 11 a.m. Friday, April 24
Where: Monsanto Auditorium, Bond Life Sciences CenterArika Okrent is a linguist and the author of In the Land of Invented Languages and Highly Irregular. She has a joint PhD in Linguistics and Psychology from the University of Chicago and has written about language for various publications, including Mental Floss, The Week, Slate, The Smithsonian, Lapham's Quarterly, and Aeon.
Abstract
Our human languages are ambiguous, complex, irregular, and just generally messy. Most of us are content to live with these problems, but over the centuries a bold idea has bloomed again and again in the minds of those who think these problems can be solved: Why not build a better language? The history of invented languages is, for the most part, a history of failure. Many of the languages involved years of work and sacrifice. They were fueled by vain dreams of fame and recognition, or by humble hopes that the world could be made a better place through language, or most often, by a combination of the two.
This talk will illustrate the history of approaches to language invention, both ingenious and foolhardy, by looking at the flaws the inventors hoped to correct, and we will see how our messy natural languages are just as flawed as they need to be.
Proposal Submissions
If you are interested in presenting at the Humanities Symposium, whether individually or as part of a research team, please visit the submission portal and submit your 200-word proposal by March 13, 2026.
For more information, or to report problems with the submission portal or process, please email Dr. Seth Howes at howesw@missouri.edu.