Race in the Americas

25 Apr 2016

pittadmin

Graduate Conference April 25-26th. 2016
Presented by the Hemispheric Americas Lecture Series
At the Pennsylvania State University, University Park Campus
Abstracts due: January 15, 2016 (11:59pm EST)
raceamericasconference@gmail.com

The Hemispheric Americas Lecture Series at Penn State invites proposals for a two-day interdisciplinary graduate student symposium on the topic of “Race in the Americas.” Some central questions we hope to grapple with include: How do we define and conceptualize race across the Americas? How do gender and sexuality complicate our notions of race? How do national, regional, local, and global perspectives add another layer of problematization in our understandings of race? How does race politically intervene in literary, artistic, and other cultural productions? What kinds of practices—medical, judicial, and otherwise—have contributed to shaping the senses (sight, sound, etc.) of bodies in this region? The specificity of the topic opens itself to a multiplicity of perspectives through which to view different historical periods and sub-regions in the Americas, and we are especially interested in bringing together works from across a wide range of different disciplines.

The conference will convene on April 25, 2016: panels will be conducted throughout the day, culminating in a keynote lecture by Dr. Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel, Professor of Latino & Hispanic Caribbean Studies at Rutgers University. The conference will reconvene on April 26 and close with a plenary lecture by Dr. Alaí Reyes-Santos, Professor of Ethnic Studies at The University of Oregon.
Proposals may consider the ways race was/is constructed in the Americas, and how the Western Hemisphere provides a unique area of study. Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

o Migration
o Violence and racial formation
o Ideas of the environment and race
o Local/regional/national/international scales of racial formation
o Nation building
o Enslaved and free labor
o Imperial/inter-imperial relations
o Role of race in education
o Activism and social movements (e.g. #BlackLivesMatter, #SayHerName, etc.)
o Race in the media
o Race in visual arts and design

The Hemispheric Americas Lecture Series is an annual event that brings together scholars and students from multiple disciplines to create a dialogue and foster collaboration. The focus is on comparative topics that challenge national conceptions of literary, artistic, and intellectual traditions. The series complements and expands on the research interests of Penn State faculty and graduate students while creating a vibrant dialogue with a broader academic community both within Penn State and at other universities.

Event Date: 
Monday, April 25, 2016 - 4:30am to Tuesday, April 26, 2016 - 4:30am
Institution(s): 
Sponsored By: 
Hemispheric Americas Lecture Series
Contact: 
raceamericasconference@gmail.com
Location: 
Pennsylvania State University, University Park Campus
Target Audience: 
Higher Education