Episode 21 of Through the Gates aired via Soundcloud Sunday, July 10.

This week, we heard from Eileen Julien, IU professor of comparative literature and director of IU’s Institute for Advanced Study.

Julien is also co-director of “Arts of Survival: Recasting Lives in African Cities,” a three-week summer institute that has brought together 22 faculty and three graduate students from universities and colleges across the U.S. The institute is hosted by the Institute for Advanced Study on the IU Bloomington campus and is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

“I think we’re going to have an intellectual feast with these people who are coming,” Julien said.

Julien, who is author of “Travels with Mae: Scenes from a New Orleans Girlhood,” is bringing a personal touch to “Arts of Survival” by loaning part of a collection of Mardi Gras regalia to the Mathers Museum of World Cultures for an exhibit beginning July 12. Public readings and films will also be offered during the institute, and the group will travel to New Orleans to examine the intersection of contemporary urban culture art with the political and social structures embedded in the city.

Through the Gates: IU This Week is a collaboration of the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President, The Media School in the College of Arts and Sciences, and the IU Newsroom. All episodes are available through SoundCloud and iTunes, or on the Media School website.