Events

Control Societies Speaker Series: Denise Ferreira da Silva, University of British Columbia - In this talk, Ferreira da Silva experiments with an account of the ethical and aesthetical dimensions of electronically-mediated existence. Such an existence increasingly seems fully permeated by and thoroughly configured through the apparatuses that enable global capital to profit from the extraction of attention. In this reading of episodes of the acclaimed British series Black Mirror, she exposes and comments on how, in this global moment, raciality facilitates capital accumulation both economically and ethically, working through the figures of humanity and subjectivity as these play in the series’ dystopian tales. More specifically, although the tales themselves are the focus of the reading, the main move in this exercise is to activate blackness’s capacity to unravel the modern ethical grammar. Ferreira da Silva argues that this move enables the drawing of a transversal line across the various parts that constitutes the apparatus of extraction of affect, so prevalent in today’s global existence, thereby exposing how coloniality and raciality govern the global present.

The Mighty Psi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and Gamma Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. hosts an annual vigil to commemorate Dr. King and his legacy.

This workshop is to provide clarity and understanding to the college admissions and
financial aid process. Registration required.

Join this interactive presentation featuring Dr. Ebony Elizabeth Thomas as she focuses on children's and adolescent books, teaching African American literature, history, and culture in K -12 classrooms. Parents and educators welcome!

Great for Families with Young Children - Express your goals and dreams in this multimedia workshop. Downloadable MLK image available.

Choose a donation site from the linked options and purchase items on the site supply list. Photograph the delivery of the items. Post to your social media platform using #PennMLK.

The "Kick-Off" begins the Day of Service with speaker Dr. Marc Lamont Hill. Entertainment: Nia-Next, Danse4Nia's Youth Company and Inspiration A Capella.

Families are invited to engage in virtual sports and wellness activities with Penn
students and staff.

This conversation will address technology and the reproduction of racial inequity. How does “big data” reinforce social disparities? Can artificial intelligence be mobilized towards social justice and positive social change? In what ways are new technologies gendered, racialized, and classed?

The speaker Wazhmah Osman is an Afghan-American academic and filmmaker. She is an assistant professor in Media Studies and Production at Temple University. 

In her book Television and the Afghan Culture Wars: Brought to You by Foreigners, Warlords, and Activists, Osman analyzes the impact of international funding and cross-border media flows on the national politics of Afghanistan, the region, and beyond. Fieldwork from across Afghanistan allowed Osman to record the voices of Afghan media producers and people from all sectors of society. Afghans offer their own seldom-heard views on the country’s cultural progress and belief systems, their understandings of themselves, and the role of international interventions. Osman looks at the national and transnational impact of media companies like Tolo TV, Radio Television Afghanistan, and foreign media giants and funders like the British Broadcasting Corporation and USAID. By focusing on local cultural contestations, productions, and social movements, Television and the Afghan Culture Wars redirects the global dialogue about Afghanistan to Afghans and thereby challenges top-down narratives of nation-building and human rights development.

Discussant: Deborah A. Thomas (University of Pennsylvania)