Events

Professor Jeffrey Shandler, Chair and Professor of Jewish Studies at Rutgers University

What happens when Holocaust survivors perform in Yiddish while recording videos of their life stories?  The USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive—the largest collection of videotaped interviews with Holocaust survivors—includes hundreds of interviews conducted entirely or partially in Yiddish. During dozens of these recordings, survivors sing a song or recite a poem in Yiddish.  Interview excerpts featuring some of these remarkable performances illustrate the survivors’ powerful commitment to demonstrating the creative power of Yiddish in the midst of recalling widespread destruction.  [Illustrated with video clips]

Ritchie Bryant, Lecturer, National Technical Institute for the Deaf

The existence of a distinct Black Deaf culture has often gone unnoticed in the predominately white Deaf community. Ritchie Bryant, a native ASL user and interpreter, discusses the many artistic and linguistic contributions of Black Deaf people to the wider society.

Maya Wiley presents the Higginbotham Lecture.

Join us for a book talk with Kehinde Andrews, Associate Professor in Sociology in the School of Social Sciences at Birmingham City University.  Free and open to the public.  Refreshments will be served.

Join us for a book talk with Michael Hanchard about his book, "The Spectre of Race: How Discrimination Haunts Western Democracy."  Light refreshments will be provided.  This event is free and open to the public. If you require reasonable accommodations, please provide at least 5 days notice.

Amber Hikes & Jovida Hill discuss the lack of understanding, the unsafe feelings, the harassment of women, minorities, and those in the LGBT community, as well tips on how to respond and, perhaps, how to end street harassment.

Africana Studies Faculty Colloquium presents: The Case for an Aesthetics of Black Aliveness by Kevin Quashie, professor in the Department of English at Brown University. He is the author of three books, most recently The Sovereignty of Quiet: Beyond Resistance in Black Culture (2012).

As part of the Diversity Lecture Series, Dr. Susan Sorenson, Professor in the School of Social Policy and Practice, will reflect on increasing women’s well-being by identifying societal changes that might affect violence against women and girls, using the latest technological advances in qualitative and quantitative research.

Dr. Sorenson will discuss how views on sexual assault have changed during the past 50-years with a particular focus on the role of college campuses.  The hour will be split between her talk and a conversation about what might be next.

The 2018 Mark D. Gordon Lecture
Join us for a conversation with Michael Arceneaux, the author of I Can't Date Jesus: Love, Sex, Family, Race, and Other Reasons I've Put My Faith in Beyoncé. Through his candor and wit, Michael unapologetically address race, sexuality, religion, as pop culture through the lens of marginalization in today’s America. Michael comments on his life as a black gay man, and how his Catholic upbringing and Howard University education have helped him give voice to an often silenced community. His writing is serious about the issues but also full of joy, humor, and love of Beyoncé! In addition to his recent book publication, Michael has written for the New York Times, The Guardian, Essence, and The Root, as well as appeared on MSNBC, NPR, and Viceland.