What We're Researching

Every two years IFK identifies a new research theme designed to shape some of the work undertaken at the Institute during that period, and to be the focus of our biennial conference.

Get to know our people and their research, from our core faculty to our postdoctoral researchers.

Our mission is to educate a new generation to approach contemporary problems with historical worldviews, interdisciplinary methodologies, and cross-cultural understanding.

Curious about what it means to study the formation of knowledge? Read the 5 tenets that guide our research at IFK.

IFK's interdisciplinary orientation modeling Richard Utz's perfect union of Humanities-STEM integration

The Institute on the Formation of Knowledge at the University of Chicago invites applications for Postdoctoral Researchers at the Rank of Instructor, to begin on August 1, 2023.

As AI continues to grow in its power and application, we plan to discuss the potential and limitations of AI knowledge, its origins and end-games, methods to ensure trustworthiness, and more.

IFK Faculty William Howell, Anthony Fowler and Wioletta Dziuda new podcast provides a fresh perspective on the biggest political stories by focusing on research and data, not pundits and politicians

In collaboration with Chicago Booth, the latest Meeting of the Minds Event titled Corporations, Secrecy and Ethics explored how Delaware, developing markets and loopholes foster an unethical corporate environment.

In our blog series, Formations, IFK's researchers explore the limits of empathy, how we visualize disease, what constitutes a person, and more.

Learn more about the Exploration of Mars course offered by IFK along with other upcoming KNOW courses

Read more about the winning students and their theses on topics such as ancient Egyptian hieratic, the music industry, Wikipedia editors, and science in medieval southwest India

Learn more about upcoming courses offered under The Novel Knowledge Series presented collaboratively by IFK and The Graham School at the University of Chicago.

IFK Postdoc Katherine Buse presenting "Immerseless Media: Climate Models, Science Fiction, and the Experience of Planetary Change"

Check out our interdisciplinary courses with multiple cross-listings! Spring KNOW courses include Diasporic Narratives, Normal People, Gaming History, and more.

"This is a big moment of truth for NASA," said Jordan Bimm in regard to the first flight test of the world's most powerful rocket.

“There is some accountability,” said Tom Ginsburg of the University of Chicago Law School. “If a court is too out of control, there is pressure to rein it back in.”

The amount of harmful particulates in the air in China fell 40% from 2013 to 2020, according to the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute, which would add about two years to average life expectancy.

“If we want the population of people getting to go to space to actually reflect human diversity on Earth, we need to rethink why we are going and who holds the keys.”

"First Amendment politics are more complicated, uncertain, and, well, just plain weird than they have been in a long time”