A unique study abroad program in Peru allowed University of Iowa sophomore Macz Norton to blend study, service, and immersion for an unforgettable experience last summer.

Step back in time to a swinging 1930s nightclub at the University of Iowa Museum of Art’s New Deal Fundraiser from 8-11 p.m. on Saturday, March 2 in the Oakdale Ballroom at the Coralville Marriott Hotel & Conference Center. Tickets are $50. To order, call 319-335-1725.

One of the most intriguing ensembles in all of music returns to Iowa City with a program that includes a work co-commissioned by Hancher.

John Jeremiah Sullivan will read from his book of essays, "Pulphead," at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4, in a free reading at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City. The reading also will be streamed live on the University of Iowa Writing University website.

The University of Iowa Martha-Ellen Tye Opera Theater will perform "Trouble in Tahiti" by Leonard Bernstein and "Amelia Goes to the Ball" by Giancarlo Menotti at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 1 and 2, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 3, in the Englert Theatre in downtown Iowa City.

John Manning, associate professor of tuba in the University of Iowa School of Music, will give a faculty recital at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30, in Riverside Recital Hall on the UI campus. The performance is free and open to the public.

Katherine van Wormer and Charletta Sudduth will read from their new book (also by David W. Jackson III), "The Maid Narratives: Black Domestics and White Families in the Jim Crow South," at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 28, in a free reading at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City. The reading also will be streamed live on the University of Iowa Writing University website.

Cory Taylor kicks off this year’s Public Digital Humanities for Lunch (PDH4L) series with “(Re)creating the World: Modeling for Google Earth with Trimble SketchUp" from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24. The presentation is free and open to the public.

University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop alumnus Benjamin Nugent will read from his new book, "Good Kids," at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 1, in a free reading at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City. The reading also will be streamed live on the University of Iowa Writing University website.

Guest pianist Oni Buchanan and author/poet Jon Woodward will perform "Uncanny Valley," a piano/poetry/electronics concert-length work by composer John Gibson, at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27, in Riverside Recital Hall on the University of Iowa campus.

The University of Iowa will host the Honor Choir Festival at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 28, in the Main Lounge of the Iowa Memorial Union on the UI campus. One hundred students from Iowa high schools, nominated by their schools’ conductors, will compose the Festival Choir.

Gerhard Loewenberg, University of Iowa professor emeritus and former dean, will read from his new memoir, "Moved by Politics," at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, in Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City. The reading also will be streamed live on the UI Writing University website.