If knowledge is power, how powerful are secrets? 

The 2018 Tucson Humanities Festival will look into hidden identities, clandestine rituals, mysterious escapes and encoded meanings, examining how information that's withheld and obscured has impacted human cultures.

The festival's 10 events include thought-provoking lectures, readings and film screening by UA faculty members and featured guests including: Colson Whitehead, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Underground Railroad;" pioneering hip-hop DJs Tony Tone and Rockin' Rob; feminist author Martine Delvaux; and Andre Goodfriend, director of the U.S. Office of eDiplomacy.

"Secrets immediately put questions in people's minds, and we've created some thought-provoking events to consider those questions," said Alain-Philippe Durand, dean of the UA College of Humanities.

The festival explores a different theme every year, with recent years highlighting "Resistance & Revolution," "Refuge" and "Found in Translation."

"We settled on secrets as a way to tell some enticing stories and showcase some fascinating components of cultures around the world," Durand said. "We'll see marginalized people throughout history who have used secrets to preserve culture and beliefs. And we'll see modern ways in which secrets have profound impacts on identity and relationships."

The events are organized as a local celebration of National Arts & Humanities Month to encourage public participation in the arts and humanities. The festival is intended to open a dialogue between the UA and the Tucson community, and to share faculty research and expertise about freedom, artistic expression, religion, and diplomacy.

Visit humanitiesfestival.arizona.edu for more information.

Oct. 4, 6:30 p.m.
Indie Games in China: Film screening and discussion
Tiexin Liang, director
Tucson Chinese Cultural Center, 1288 W. River Rd.

Oct. 5, 3 p.m.
Surprising Vermeer: An Artist in Delft, Delft in the World
Timothy Brook, University of British Columbia
UA Museum of Art, 1031 N. Olive Rd.

Oct. 9, 7 p.m.
To Speak or Not to Speak: Women, Secrets and Sexual Violence
Martine Delvaux, Université du Québec à Montréal
UA Poetry Center, 1508 E. Helen St.

Oct. 11, 6 p.m.
Letters to the Future: Black Women/Radical Writing
Editors Erica Hunt & Dawn Lundy Martin, and featured poets giovanni singleton and Ruth Ellen Kocher
Tucson Museum of Art, 140 N. Main Ave.

Oct. 12, 6 p.m.
Crushin' It: Untold Stories from Hip-Hop's Founding Days
DJ Rockin' Rob & DJ Tony Tone
Cans Deli, 340 N. Fourth Ave.
Tickets are required. Register for free at Eventbrite. 

Oct. 16, 7 p.m.
Secret Lives: Hidden Identities in Global Popular Culture
Melissa Fitch, UA Spanish and Portuguese
UA Poetry Center, 1508 E. Helen St.

Oct. 18, 7 p.m.
Revisiting the Underground Railroad
Colson Whitehead, Pulitzer Prize-winning author
UA Student Union Memorial Center, North Ballroom
Tickets are required for this event. Register for free at Eventbrite.  

Oct. 23, 7 p.m.
Subverting Colonialism: Keep it Secret, Keep it Safe
Andrea McComb Sanchez and Caleb Simmons, UA Religious Studies
UA Poetry Center, 1508 E. Helen St.

Oct. 26, 10 a.m.
Transparency & Trust: How Open Diplomacy Advances Democracy
Andre Goodfriend, director, U.S. Office of eDiplomacy
UA Student Union Memorial Center, Sonora Room

Oct. 30, 7 p.m.
Spellbound: Film screening and discussion
David Soren, Humanities Seminars Program
The Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd.
Free tickets available Oct. 30 at noon at The Loft Cinema. Limit two per person.