A week-long workshop and community series on the Carnatic music of southern India will culminate in a concert March 8 at 5:00 p.m. at the Englert Theatre. Sarva Sree Foundation (SSF) will present Exotic Voice of South India, a Carnatic (South Indian) classical music (vocal & instrumental) concert led by professional musicians from USA and India.

The South Asian Studies Program (SASP) at the University of Iowa will kick off its spring seminar series with a talk by Dr. Scott Levi titled "Whither the Silk Road? The View from Early Modern India" on Monday, February 16, at 4:30 p.m. in 1117 University Capitol Centre. The event is free and open to the public. Chai and samosas will be served.

Study Abroad will host an international trivia night on Thursday, February 12 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at The Mill in Iowa City. Returned study abroad students and interested friends are invited to join in for an evening of conversation and trivia. Pizza catered by the Mill will also be provided.

In 2014, major airline crashes killed more than 760 people and, understandably, raised concerns over safety issues and the risks of flying. Less understandably, tobacco use prematurely killed 480,000 people in the U.S. and about 5 million people worldwide but engendered little debate. People hear these figures, shrug and turn away — tobacco death fatigue?

The next WorldCanvass will explore the complicated and controversial issues surrounding the legality and use of tobacco and marijuana with a special focus on the tension between personal liberty and the public good. Host Joan Kjaer will moderate the conversation with guests from the fields of dentistry, psychiatry, pharmacy, public health, and law. The February 3 program begins at 5 p.m. at FilmScene and is free and open to the public

Students on the six-week summer Irish Writing Program program have the extraordinary opportunity not only to study the history and culture of Ireland through its literature, but also to begin the discovery of their own identities as writers. It’s an experience with transformative results for many. This is one of many short-term and faculty led programs that will be represented at this spring's Study Abroad Fair on Thursday, Jan 29.

On Monday, the University of Iowa hosted its second-ever International Welcome Night in an effort to integrate new international students, which has proved difficult after a rise in the international population over the past few years. Though hundreds of students attended the fall welcome night, the event’s organizer, Joelle Brown, anticipated various challenges for the spring welcome night. These included smaller enrollment of first-time international students and January’s uninviting temperatures preventing some students from traveling to the event.

The University of Iowa’s Food for Thought Theme Semester is a program that will launch Tuesday and run throughout the spring semester. It will connect academics, local communities and individual Iowans through something we can all relate to: food.