On February 14-15, 2020, an international symposium entitled Pluralism and the Engaged Humanities was held at IUB. Bringing together plenary speakers from Harvard University, the University of Pittsburgh, Michigan State University, and the University of Pretoria along with roundtable participants from Oberlin College, Swarthmore, the University of Pennsylvania, and IU, the event honored the innovative scholarship and inspiring activism of Eileen Julien, Professor of Comparative Literature, African Studies, and French and Francophone Studies, and former Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies at IUB. Guided by her decades-long critical and creative examination of the intersectionality of race, gender, institutional structures, and theoretical localities, the symposium highlighted her influence as a teacher and mentor to generations of students. Julien's distinctive autobiographical work, her engagement with local cultural forms in New Orleans and Senegal, and her activity as the architect of events and institutions that have bridged the gap between academia, community, and the arts on different continents and in different cultural contexts provided rich topics of discussion. The event was organized by Akin Adeṣọkan (Comparative Literature and The Media School) and Oana Panaïté.