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Past Guests at Unit One/Allen Hall
2015-2016
- Peace Paper Project - Hand-papermaking, writing, bookmaking, and printmaking workshops.
- Kate Bornstein - Award-winning author, performance artist, and public speaker.
- Tatsuya Nakatani - Percussion-sound artist originally from Osaka, Japan.
- Sarah van Gelder - Speaker, writer, and co-founder and editor in chief of YES! Magazine and YesMagazine.org.
- Guy Thorne - Co-founder, artistic director, choreographer, and dancer at FuturPointe Dance.
- Madison Maxey - Creative technologist and 2013 recipient of a Thiel Fellowship
- John K. Wilson - Author, former Unit One/Allen Hall resident, co-editor of AcademeBlog,org, editor of Illinois Academe, and co-organizer of the Chicago Book Expo.
- Mitch Altman - San Francisco-based hacker and inventor, co-founded 3ware, co-founder of Noisebridge, and President and CEO of Cornfield Electronics.
2014-2015
- Dan Kwong - Solo performer, writer, director, visual artist
- Bernie DeKoven - Game designer, author, theorist of fun
- Lisa Wade - Sociologist, collegiate sexual cultures, the social significance of the body
- The Andrew Alden Ensemble - Contemporary and electronic chamber music, textual scores for films performed live
- Kelsey Timmerman - Author, global food economy, global clothing economy
- Meredith Scheff-King - Writer, hardware hacker, cartoonist, sculptor, kinetic artist
- Steve Lambert - Artist, popular culture, hacktivism, cultural agitation
- Climbing PoeTree - Poets, performance artists, printmakers, graphic designers, muralists
2013-2014
- damali ayo - Artist, performer, author, race
- Kate Bornstein - Performance artist, playwright, author, women and gender studies
- Frederick Marx - Producer, director, writer, editor
- Ysaye Barnwell - A cappella, vocalist, instrumentalist, African American cultural performance
- Mary Mattingly - Sculpture, architecture, photography
- Mitch Altman - Hacker and inventor
- Lucky Dragons - Experimental music, interactive performances, collaborative art
- Maggie Koerth-Baker - Science journalist and editor
2012-2013
- S. Bear Bergman - Author, theater artist, and lecturer on gender, sexuality, and culture
- Nina Paley - Animator, cartoonist
- Nada Alwadi - Journalist, writer, researcher
- Jimmie Rodgers - Hacker, artist, musician, open hardware developer, "techno-nomad"
- James Loewen - American history
- Annie Sprinkle - Multi-media artist, preeminent figure in the “feminist sex-positive movement”
- Antwi Akom - Founding Director of the Institute for Sustainable Economic, Educational, and Environmental Design (ISEEED)
- Douglas Ewart - Composer, improviser, sculptor, maker of masks and instruments, educator, lecturer, and arts organization consultant
- Davy Rothbart and Peter Rothbart: Davy Rothbart is the creator of Found Magazine, and an author and filmmaker; Peter Rothbart is a Found Magazine editor, songwriter and the front man for folk rock group The Poem Adept
2011-12
- damali ayo - Artist, performer, author, race
- Becky Stern - Artist, crafts, electronics, Arduino
- Climbing PoeTree - Poetry, bookmaking, street art
- Lucky Dragons - Experimental music, interactive performances, collaborative art
- Tristan Taormino - Author, sex educator
- Ian Cheney - Filmmaker, environmental advocate
- Stephen Zunes - Middle East politics, US foreign policy, non-violent social movements
- Mitch Altman - Hacker, inventor
2010-11
- Combat Paper Project - Paper-making, veterans, war
- Jimmie Briggs - Investigative journalist, child soldiers
- Gareth Branwyn - DIY media and technology, cyberculture
- Davy Rothbart - Found Magazine, author, filmmaker
- Favianna Rodriquez - Street art, political art
- Douglas Ewart - Composer, improvisor, instrument maker
- Anna Lappé - Food politics, sustainable agriculture
2009-10
- James Loewen - Race and American History
- Brian Tokar - Ecological issues and movements
- Stefan Brun and Jenny Magnus - Theater directors, writers, performers, producers
- Tim Eriksen - "Northern Roots" Americana musician
- Climbing PoeTree - Poetry, bookmaking, stenciling
- Bryant Terry - Eco-Chef, food justice
- African Women Writers Festival - African women writers and performers
2008-09
- Jimmie Briggs - Investigative journalist, child soldiers
- Mark Frauenfelder and David Pescovitz - Technology, science, culture bloggers
- Ninotchka Rosca - Writer, human rights activist, former political prisoner
- Idris Goodwin - Hip hop playwright, break beat poet, teacher
- Favianna Rodriquez - Street art, political art
- Heather Rogers - Journalist, filmmaker, environmental effects of mass consumption
- Bill Ayers - School reform, teaching, and democracy
2007-08
- James Loewen - Race and American History
- Speak Theater Arts - Theater performers, writers
- Hadani Ditmars - International journalist, Middle East
- Billy Jonas - Singer/songwriter, "industrial re-percussionist"
- Climbing PoeTree - Poetry, bookmaking, stenciling
- Sonia Shah - Investigative journalist, human rights, medicine
- Josh MacPhee - Street art, political graphics
2006-07
- Aya de Leon - Writer and spoken word performer
- Iris Morales - Activist, media artist, attorney, and director/producer
- Prexy Nesbitt - Africa expert, organizer, teacher
- Brian Ulrich - Photographer, exploring consumption, media, and advertising
- Eboo Patel and Kevin Coval - Interfaith relations, spoken word performance
- Frithjof Bergmann - Philosophy, New Work
- Allyson Mitchell - Maximalist artist, lg scale sculpture and installations, feminist activism and popular culture
- Kristina Sheryl Wong - Solo performer, writer, Asian American issues
2005-06
- Sharif Ezzat, Rachel Havrelock, and Yuri Lane - Performance art, hip-hop plays, political issues
- Patch Adams - Health, humor, and community
- Elaine Brown - Activist, writer, popular lecturer
- Mark Frauenfelder and David Pescovitz - Technology, science, culture bloggers and editors
- Kathy Kelly - Nobel peace prize nominee, nonviolent action in Iraq, Haiti, and Bosnia
- Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai - Spoken word artist, cultural pride
- Fred Rubin - Television writer and producer, writing instructor
2004-05
- Kristina Sheryl Wong - Solo performer, writer, Asian American issues
- Eboo Patel and Kevin Coval - Interfaith relations, spoken word performance
- Tariq Ali - Political commentator, novelist, playwright
- Grace Lee Boggs - Civil Rights, Black Power, Women's Movement, and Asian American issues
- Tara Betts - Spoken word performer, poet, teacher
- James Loewen - Race and American history
- Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn - School reform, political activists, children's human rights and legal issues
2003-04
- Aya De Leon - Poet, spoken word performer, teacher
- Peter Irons - Supreme Court, civil rights, civil liberties
- John Sinclair - Poetry, essays, blues, and jazz
- Ben Cox - Civil Rights Movement, non-violent protest
- Frederick Marx - Independent filmmaker, "Hoop Dreams"
- Lakota Harden - Native American Issues, indigenous women
- Timothy "Speed" Levitch - Tour guide, writer, performance artist
- Julianne Malveaux - Politics, economics, gender, and race.
2002-03
- Ysaye Barnwell - African and African American vocal music
- James Loewen - Race and American history
- Keith Knight - Comic art and expression
- Bernardine Dohrn - Political activist, children's human rights and legal issues
- Patch Adams - Free health care movement
- Jason Finkelman - Improvisational percussion
- Anida Rouquiyah, Yoeu Esguerra, and Dennis Sangmin - Poetry, spoken word, Asian American identity
2001-02
- Rick Burkhardt and Andy Gricevich - Experimental music and theater
- Rachel Katz and Tony Sirna - Environmentally sustainable community living
- Vicky Gray - Adams Civil Rights Movement
- Staceyann Chin - Spoken word, race, sexuality
- Bill Ayers - School reform, politics
- Michael Keck - Theater, prisons, and social change
2000-01
- Jane Holtz Kay - Architecture, planning, and the environment
- Ray Essick - The Olympics and society
- Lyx Ish - Experimental music, language, and writing
- James Loewen - Race and American History
- Laura Hershey - Disability rights activism
- Patch Adams - Free health care movement
- Marianne Ferber - Economics and women's studies
- Kenneth Atkins - Space exploration
- Ysaye Barnwell - African and African American vocal music
1999-00
- Jeff Pinzino and David Pinzino - People's empowerment and community building
- August Zirner - American/European performing arts
- Toby Miller - Sports and cinema in popular culture
- Bernardine Dohrn - Political activist, children's human rights and legal issues
- Calvin Forbes - Poetry, literature, jazz as art music
- Jolie Rickman - Community-based arts and music
- David Dellinger and Elizabeth Peterson - Social justice activism, Chicago 8
- Pete Anderson - Psychology and human sexuality
1998-99
- Barbara Trent - Documentary film making
- Mark Weisbrot - Political economy
- Kalamu Ya Salaam - International music, poetry, and other writings
- Rick Burkhardt and Andy Gricevich - Experimental music and theater
- Patch Adams - Free health care movement
- Nancy Thies Marshall - Gymnastics, sports media
1997-98
- Lisa Fay and Jeff Glassman - Movement theater
- David Chynoweth and Gloria Chynoweth - Microbiology, music, and massage
- Ray Moseley - Medical ethics
- Bill Ehrhart - Poetry, Vietnam War
- Melanie Mala Ghosh - South Asian women, political activism
- Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard - Cuban visual arts, experimental music
1996-97
- Spiderwoman Theater - Native American women's theater
- Bruce Hinrichs and Greg Mulcahy - Popular culture past and present
- Johanne Fisher - Environmental and social biology
- Ray Moseley - Medical ethics
- Mark Weisbrot - Political economy
- Kathy Long - Martial arts, women in films
- Lorna Goodison - Caribbean poetry
1995-96
- Barbara Trent - Documentary filmmaking, The Panama Deception
- Elena Featherston - Anti-racist activism
- Ndikho Xaba - South African Music
- Patch Adams - Free health care movement
- Emily Shihadeh - Theater, Middle East politics
- Larry Heineman - Fiction writing, Vietnam War
1994-95
- Roberto Mendoza - Environmentalism, Native American/Chicano politics
- David Dellinger and Elizabeth Peterson - Social justice activism
- Ninotchka Rosca - US-Philippine relations, trafficking of women
- (MPAACT) Ma’at Production Association of African Center Theater - African-centered arts
- Laurie Witzkowski - Puppetry, experimental performance
- Sky Schultz - Environmentalism, psychology
- Jose Lopez - Social Justice, US penal system
1993-94
- Rebecca Rice - Performing arts, anti-racism
- Patch Adams - Community building
- David Feldman - Popular culture
- Renee Diehl - Physics, feminism
- Irena Klepfisz - Yiddish culture, writing
- Toby Twining and Beth Amsbary - Experimental music, participatory theater
1992-93
- Fred Ho - African-Asian Jazz, Asian studies
- Lisa Fay - Movement, choreography, community arts
- Nancy Thies - Gymnastics, sports media
- Marv Davidov - Peace activism
- Vernon Bellecourt - Native American activism
1991-92
- Ricardo Levins Morales - Printmaking, political organizing
- Rebecca Rice - Anti-racism, community theater
- The Performers' Workshop Ensemble - Experimental music and theater
- Patch Adams - Health, humor, and community
- Amel Ben Aba - Tunisian feminism
- Sara Diamond - Right wing American politics
1990-91
- Jerry Frasia - Political science
- Ann Timmons - Theater
- Sky Schultz - Psychology, humor, ecology
- Alexander Lynn - African-American youth leadership
- Ruth Forman - Wellness, human development
- Cindy Patton - Politics of AIDS and Feminism
- Jose Lopez - Puerto Rican History and politics
1989-90
- Sheila Tobias - Math anxiety, defense spending
- Catherine Schieve and Bob Paredes - Graphic notation, music composition, Klezmer music
- Paula Garb - Soviet lifestyle, anthropology
- Vinie Burrows - Theatre, African culture
- Larry Goldfarb - Movement education and rehab
- Erwin Knoll - Editor of the Progressive
- Margarita de Botero - Ecology and the Green Movement
1988-89
- Norman Soloman - Cold war journalism
- Jean Redpath - Scottish folk singing
- David Dellinger - Chicago 8, anti-war activism
- Conrad Lynn - Civil Rights lawyer
- Patch Adams - Free health care
- Encarnita Figueroa - Mime/theater and feminism
- Laurie Dunphy - Filmmaking, photography
1987-88
- Michael LeRoy - Alternative dispute resolution
- Jerri Allyn - Conceptual performance art
- Michael Patton - Art and alternative lifestyles
- Regina Ryan - Wellness
- Martin Lee - Investigative reporting
- Sylvia Malagrino - Photography
- John B. Anderson - Government politics
1986-87
- Patrick Daugherty - Music, performance
- Susan McCarn - Women's issues
- Fred Marx - Independent film, China, "Hoop Dreams"
- Carl Oglesby - Politics on the left
- Karl Hess - Politics on the right, libertarianism
- David Mamula - Character acting
1985-86
- Susan McCarn - Theater, women's issues
- Richard A. Salem - Dispute resolution
- Stephen Baird - Street performance
- George Hallet - South African photographer
- United Mime Workers - Theater, political action
- Prexy Nesbitt - South Africa, divestment
1984-85
- Karl Hess - New management styles
- Nell Sinton - Political satire
- Paul Hoover - Alternative technologies
- David Mamula - Performer, comedy and characters
1983-84
- George Hallett - Photography, South Africa
- Rita Ollgaart-McNamara - Alternative lifestyles
- Michael McNamara - Music
- Susan McCarn - Writer, editor, theater
- Douglas Kahn - Politics
- Elizabeth Goldsmith-Conley - Puppets
- Cousin Wash - Storyteller
1982-83
- Harry Edwards - Sociology of sport
- Bernard Second Mescalaro - Apache life and values
- Les Klug - Photography
- Charlie Vernon - Dance
- Jim Elniski - Visual arts
- Henrietta Michelson-Bagley - Performance and visual artist
- Steve Rabin - Political action
1981-82
- Harry Krulewitch, MD - Medicine
- Karamoko Baye - Prison reform, prisoner art
- Jadwiga Jasny-Mazurek - Polish television
- Lunar Raven - Multimedia
- Susan Motycka - Choreography
- Hans G. Helms - Economic history
1980-81
- Charlie Vernon - Dance, choreography
- Jerry Mander - Television critic
- Karamoko Baye - The judicial system, prison reform, prisoner art
- Douglas Ewart - Music performance and instrument making
- Jadwiga Jasny-Mazurek - Children's television, Polish television
1979-80
- The Otrabanda Theater Co. - Performance techniques and theater production
- Stanley Weir - Writing about work experience, small press publishing
- Charlie Vernon - Dance, choreography, writing
- Calvin Jones - Painter, muralist
- Eva Evers Rosander - Social anthropologist
1978-79
- Susan Motycka - Dance composer and performer
- William DeFotis - Composer and clarinetist
- Sylvia Woods - Labor history and organization
- Mark Rogovin - Muralist
- Steven Carothers - Environmental biologist
- Barbara Doherty - Clown, mime, modern dance
1977-78
- Celia Gouvea - Dancer and choreographer
- Robert Shrum - Journalist and political speechwriter
- Michael Patton - Visual arts
- Prexy Nesbitt - Africa expert, organizer, teacher
- Nell Sinton - Painter
- David Abramson - Architect (retrieval of old buildings)
- Michale Udow and Nancy Udow - Composition of music-dance, percussion
1976-77
- United Mime Workers - Visual composition, action theater
- Chiang Chin - Dancer, Chinese dance techniques
- Heinz Von Foerster - Science, cybernetics, epistemology
- Freude - Filmmaker and film distributor
- Hans B. Helms - Economic and social historian
- Roscoe Mitchell - Composer and multi-instrumentalist
1975-76
- Henriett Michaleson-Bagley - Performance, painting, poetry
- Michael Fajans - Muralist, photographer
- Vito Giacolone - Painter
- Laura Airner - Stage design and costuming
- Karl Hess - Writer, welder, sculptor
- Robert Fuller - Physicist, personal alternatives
1974-75
- Edwin Schlossberg - Environmental Design
- Michael Colgrass - Composer
- Peter Kortner - Novelist, television writer, producer
- Krysztof Wodicko - Graphic artist
- Ellen Willis - Writer, film critic