Globalization, along with cultural diversity, and racial justice at home call for the knowledge and comparative methods of the humanities. These methods are essential to sustaining multicultural and multilingual societies, to dismantling structural racism, and to cultivating a strong democratic culture.
The Center for Black Studies Research will host ten panelists to speak on the ongoing need to research African Americans’ development and learning experiences in the United States. Each panelist will present on the following topics: Abolitionism, afrocentricity, Afro-pessimism, Black studies, healing-centered, and hip-hop pedagogies. Sharon Tettegah, the Center’s director, will speak along with other UCSB faculty and visiting professors.
The Walter H. Capps Center will host U.C. Riverside religious studies professor Melissa M. Wilcox for a discussion about the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a charitable organization that uses drag and religious imagery to engage in activism and street performances. The L.A. Dodgers last year sparked outrage among conservative media outlets when the team announced plans to honor the group at its annual Pride Night.
The Center for Middle East Studies will host Persis Karim, executive producer and co-director of The Dawn is Too Far, for a post-screening discussion. The film shares a multi-generational perspective of those who came to the United States as students, refugees, and exiles during the 1979 Iranian Revolution. This event is co-sponsored by the UCSB Iranian Studies Initiative.
The Department of Religious Studies will host a workshop about "animism," a term that is positively used in Japan to describe widespread forms of Japanese religiosity and cultural identity. In this workshop, visiting scholars from Japan and UCSB faculty will explore some contemporary cultural formations defined in Japan as expressions of "animism."
The Carsey-Wolf Center will show the 2020 documentary series Move, in which French filmmakers Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai explore the world of dance and focus on influential artists. The first episode highlights street dancers Jon Boogz and Lil Buck, who continuously show that street dance is a high art form. The two dancers will join moderator Stephanie Batiste, an English and Black Studies UCSB professor, for a post-screening discussion.
The Department of Music will host acclaimed vocalist and composer Ken Ueno, virtuoso violist Wendy Richman, and innovative percussionist Tim Feeney, who will perform a program of contemporary music. The performance will include Talus for viola and electronics, Two Hands for viola and percussion, Ueno's vocal solo Active Traces: On Being or Being Written About, and more.