Oakland University partners with Rochester Hills Public Library to offer free humanities programming

Oakland University’s Center for Public Humanities has partnered with Rochester Hills Public Library to offer a free event series that showcases the work of writers, performers and scholars with ties to OU and Southeastern Michigan.   

Kicking off September 23, the series features a wide range of topics, from race and class issues in Oakland County, to Michigan women who changed history, to the life and work of novelist Jane Austen, to a Soviet ice dancer whose pioneering style captivated audiences worldwide.

"We’re very excited about partnering with RHPL and the expanded opportunities this brings to put the 'public' in public humanities,” said Daniel Clark, professor and director of the Center for Public Humanities. “RHPL is a local treasure, and we're grateful for this collaboration."

RHPL Director Juliane Morian added: “A cornerstone of our strategic plan is to offer high-quality programs and help people find ways to connect to their community, entertainment and education. This partnership allows RHPL and the Center for Public Humanities to expand our offerings and provide moments of connection and engagement, two items that are close to our hearts at RHPL.”

Register for events at the Center for Public Humanities web page. All registrants will have the option of attending either in person or on Zoom.

Is there a white bonus? Investigating Class, Race and Oakland County's American Dream

Tuesday, September 23, Noon – 1 p.m., 242 Kresge Library (The Nyberg Room)

Journalist—and Holly native—Tracie McMillan discusses her groundbreaking work in the 2024 book, “The White Bonus: Five Families and the Cash Value of Racism in America” (Henry Holt & Co.). In this work described by renowned author Kiese Laymon as "courage and absolute genius," McMillan's stunning hybrid of memoir and journalism alternates between her own struggling middle-class family in Michigan and four other white families across generations—and across the country.

Driven by personal history marked with abuse, illness, and poverty, McMillan asks—for real—what has being white ever gotten me? To answer this question, McMillan goes beyond hollow discussions of “privilege.” She explores whether her family in Oakland County and Ann Arbor benefited from public aid targeted to white families alone, and asks how much it was worth. With that knowledge in hand, she studies what America's steady loss of a safety net—in the form of education, housing and health care most people can afford—has cost her, too.

This event is made possible by the Judd Family Endowed Fund.

Movers, Shakers, and Music Makers: A Tribute to Six Michigan Women Who Changed History

Tuesday, October 21, 7-8:30 p.m., Rochester Hills Public Library Multipurpose Room

This event features Kamryn Marck, who received a BFA in Musical Theatre from Oakland University in 2015. Marck is a self-described “ecological gardener” and “theatre artist" who has been touring throughout Michigan giving performances of various productions. 

Among the women featured in this production are Myra K. Wolfgang, labor union organizer, Grace Lee Boggs, philosopher and activist, Laura Smith Haviland, abolitionist and conductor on the underground railroad, and others. Featuring "This Little Light of Mine," "Oh! What a Beautiful City," this 45-minute show will leave you inspired by the legacy of women activists in Michigan and hopeful about building a better world right in your own backyard. Directed by Karen Sheridan and supported by Winn Kline.

This event is made possible by the Judd Family Endowed Fund.

An Afternoon Tea with Jane Austen

Tuesday, December 2, 4-6 p.m., in the Oakland Center Ambassador Rooms 

Join us for tea and cookies in a community celebration of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday. We'll begin with a presentation by OU Professor Megan Peiser who will share images and anecdotes from her time living and working as a fellow at Chawton House, the beloved author’s family home. From there, community members will read aloud their favorite passages from Jane Austen’s novels. 

The Leading Lady of Ice Dancing: Ludmila Pakhomova, ‘Sex on Ice,’ and Global Feminism in the 1970s

Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 7 p.m., in 242 Kresge Library (The Nyberg Room)

Lesley Chapel, who received a BA and MA in History from Oakland University and is currently a Ph.D. student in history at Wayne State, is uniquely qualified to offer this presentation. Ludmila Pakhomova and Alexander Gorshkov of the Soviet Union revolutionized ice dancing during the 1970s. Their alluring, romantic style was dubbed “sex on ice,” and it freed the sport from the dominant, rigid, unemotive British style. Combined with their superb technical mastery, Pakhomova and Gorshkov’s “sex on ice” allowed them to become the first Olympic Champions in ice dancing in 1976 and idols the world over. But why did a Soviet couple sexualize ice dancing? Considering the answers to this question opens up the opportunity for deeper conversations about the impacts of changing global gender norms in the context of second-wave feminism during the détente period of the Cold War. The way international audiences were captivated by the liveliness and romantic charm of the couple’s performance style, along with the way Pakhomova in particular was valorized for her strong-willed character, demonstrates how East and West alike were grappling with changing concepts of femininity and masculinity during the 1970s in sport, art and life.

After the couple’s retirement from competitive skating, Ludmila Pakhomova became a successful coach, producing an array of Olympians and World Junior Champions. Her coaching career was tragically abbreviated, however, when leukemia claimed her life in 1986; she was just 39 years old. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, several of her most prominent students immigrated to the United States and settled in metropolitan Detroit, where they continue to work as coaches themselves. Lesley Chapel was a nationally competitive ice dancer for 23 years, and both of her coaches were students of Ms. Pakhomova. Upholding Pakhomova’s legacy by learning her technique and style as passed down through her students at Detroit Skating Club became the single most meaningful aspect of Chapel’s passion for the sport. From a scholarly perspective, thinking about the presence of Pakhomova’s influence in metropolitan Detroit reveals the nuances of cross-cultural exchanges in the post-Cold War era on a local level.

This event is made possible by the Judd Family Endowed Fund. 

For more information, email the Center for Public Humanities at [email protected].