“Identity” is the theme of the 2011 黑料不打烊 Symposium, an annual intellectual and artistic festival on the 黑料不打烊 campus. This fall鈥檚 festival encompasses six lectures, including one by best-selling author/philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah; four performances and readings, including the world premiere of a multimedia work by Society for New Music composer Greg Wanamaker and visual artist Carrie Mae Weems; and five exhibitions and screenings, including the ninth annual Human Rights Film Festival. All events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.
The SU Humanities Center organizes and presents 黑料不打烊 Symposium for SU鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences and for the entire 黑料不打烊 community. More information is available by calling 315-443-7192 or visiting .
鈥淲hether understood as a principle of sameness that gives rise to a perception of individual and social identity, or as the point where people and societies diverge, 鈥業dentity鈥 is a persistent theme of the public humanities,鈥 says Gregg Lambert, director of both the SU Humanities Center and the Central New York Humanities Corridor, an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation initiative. 鈥淭hrough a series of public lectures and conversations, we are creating a dialogue that provides the foundation of a common understanding among many peoples.鈥 Lambert also serves as Dean鈥檚 Professor of the Humanities in .
The schedule is as follows:
Lectures
Appiah is author of the landmark books 鈥淭he Honor Code: How Moral Revolutions Happen鈥 and 鈥淐osmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers,鈥 published by W.W. Norton & Co. in 2010 and 2006, respectively. A distinguished professor in Princeton鈥檚 Department of Philosophy and University Center for Human Values, he has written extensively about philosophy of mind and language, African and African American intellectual history, and political philosophy. Also, Appiah serves as president of the PEN American Center, the U.S. branch of the world鈥檚 oldest international literary and human rights organization.
Co-Sponsor: The Goldring Arts Journalism Program
Eng is an expert in American literature, Asian American studies, Asian diaspora, psychoanalysis, critical race theory, queer studies and visual culture. He is author of the forthcoming book 鈥淭he Feeling of Kinship: Queer Diasporas and the Racialization of Intimacy鈥 (Duke University Press) and of the acclaimed 鈥淩acial Castration: Managing Masculinity in Asian America (Duke University Press, 2001). In addition, Eng is co-editor with David Kazanjian of 鈥淟oss: The Politics of Mourning鈥 (University of California Press, 2003); with Alice Y. Hom of 鈥淨&A: Queer in Asian America鈥 (Temple University Press, 1998); and 鈥淲hat鈥檚 Queer About Queer Studies Now?鈥漺ith Judith Halberstam and Jose Mu帽oz in a special issue of the journal 鈥淪ocial Text鈥 (Duke University Press, 2005). Eng is currently working on a study of neoliberalism and desire in Chinese cinema and on an analysis of political and psychic reparation.
Co-Sponsors: Department of English and LGBT Studies Program
Schulman is a novelist, playwright, filmmaker and activist renowned for her groundbreaking work in lesbian and gay culture. A prolific writer with more than a dozen books and multiple plays to her credit, she is co-founder of the ACT UP Oral History Project, documenting the lives and strategies of members of the HIV/AIDS activist organization ACT UP/New York. She is also the recipient of the prestigious Kessler Prize for Sustained Contribution to LGBT Studies.
Co-Sponsors: LGBT Resource Center, LGBT Studies Program, the Creative Writing Program and the Department of Women鈥檚 & Gender Studies
Shipsey is a distinguished particle physicist known for his creativity and imagination. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he divides time between CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, site of the most powerful atom smasher in the world, and Fermilab, a proton-antiproton collider in Batavia, Ill., where he co-coordinates the Large Hadron Collider Physics Center. Between the ages of 30 and 42, Shipsey was deaf, the result of an antibiotic treatment he received for severe pneumonia. A 鈥渂ionic ear鈥濃攊nvented and tuned by technologies he champions鈥攏ot only broke his silence, but also has given him a new lease on scientific teaching and research. He is this fall鈥檚 Wali Lecturer in The College of Arts and Sciences.
Co-Sponsors: the Kameshwar C. Wali Lecture in the Sciences and Humanities and the Department of Physics
Sedaris shot to fame more than a decade ago with 鈥淏arrel Fever: Stories and Essays鈥 (1995) and 鈥淗olidays on Ice: Stories鈥 (1997), both of which showcase his sardonic wit and incisive social critiques. He has since published collections of humorous essays鈥斺淣aked鈥 (1998), 鈥淢e Talk Pretty One Day鈥 (2001), 鈥淒ress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim鈥 (2004), 鈥淲hen You Are Engulfed in Flames鈥 (2009) and 鈥淪quirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary鈥 (2010)鈥攖hat have sold more than seven million copies worldwide and have been translated into 25 languages. His original radio pieces are heard on 鈥淭his American Life,鈥 distributed nationally by Public Radio International and produced by WBEZ. His appearance is a joint presentation with University Lectures and the Pulse Performing Arts Series.
Co-sponsor: University Lectures
Gunn will moderate a panel discussion titled 鈥淭he State of the Earth,鈥 involving Carol Finn, a research geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey and president-elect of the American Geophysical Union; Pamela Matson, the Chester Naramore Dean of the School of Earth Sciences and the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Professor of Environmental Studies at Stanford University; and Elsa Reichmanis 鈥72, G鈥75, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology. As host of 鈥淭ech Nation鈥 and 鈥淏ioTech Nation,鈥 Gunn is heard weekly on more than 200 public radio stations nationwide and throughout 180 countries worldwide. A former NASA employee, she serves as associate professor of global information systems and biotechnology at the University of San Francisco. Her appearance is a joint presentation with University Lectures.
Co-sponsor: University Lectures
Performances and Readings
鈥淐ORRESPONDING PERSPECTIVES: POETRY, PROSE AND PHOTOGRAPHY鈥
The husband-wife team of Keller and Levi is noted for combining creative excellence with disability advocacy. Keller has written three prize-winning novels in his native German; plays for Swiss, Austrian and German audiences; and the memoir 鈥淭he Best Dancer鈥 (Ooligan Press, 2009), about his living with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Levi is author of two books of poetry: 鈥淥nce I Gazed at You in Wonder鈥 (Louisiana State University Press, 1999), winner of the Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of American Poets, and 鈥淪kyspeak鈥 (LSU Press, 2005). She also co-edited 鈥淎 Muriel Rukeyser Reader鈥 (W.W. Norton & Co., 1995), a revised version of 鈥淭he Collected Poems of Muriel Rukeyser鈥 (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005) and 鈥淒irected by Desire: The Collected Poems of June Jordan鈥 (Copper Canyon Press, 2005).
Co-Sponsors: Department of Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics; and the Center on Human Policy, Law, and Disability Studies
SOCIETY FOR NEW MUSIC: 鈥淭HE GEOGRAPHY OF THE IMAGINATION鈥
Weems is an award-winning photographer, filmmaker and videographer whose work is acclaimed for its treatment of issues involving racism, gender relations, politics and personal identity. Wanamaker is a composer of mostly solo and chamber music that has been commissioned, performed and commercially recorded throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. 鈥淭he Geography of the Imagination鈥 is a joint work between the two, addressing the poetics of identity and historical memory, and incorporating music, narration, text, visual imagery and projections. The work was commissioned by the Society for New Music and was largely underwritten by an NEA grant. It is part of SNM鈥檚 annual fall concert at SU.
Co-Sponsor: Society for New Music
CONTEMPORARY AWARD-WINNING POETS
The Downtown Writer鈥檚 Center marks its 10th anniversary with the opening of a new facility and with readings by two eminent poets. Eady is the author of eight books of poetry, including 鈥淏rutal Imagination鈥 (Putnam Adult, 2001), which was a finalist for the National Book Award and whose stage adaptation garnered an Oppenheimer Award. His libretto for the opera 鈥淩unning Man鈥 was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 1999. Eady is co-founder with writer Toi Derricotte of Cave Canem, a summer retreat for African American poets. Laux is the author of five collections of poetry, including 鈥淭he Book of Men鈥 (W.W. Norton & Co., 2011) and 鈥淔acts About the Moon鈥 (W.W. Norton & Co., 2005), the latter of which won the Oregon Book Award and was short-listed for the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize. The winner of two 鈥淏est American Poetry Prizes鈥 and a Pushcart Prize, she has taught poetry for more than a decade.
Co-Sponsor: The YMCA鈥檚 Downtown Writer鈥檚 Center
鈥淭he Boys Next Door鈥 is a play written by Tom Griffin and directed by Timothy Bond (Stage鈥檚 producing artistic director) about four mentally disabled men in a group home. A gentle blend of comedy and compassion, the play has been praised by the New York Daily News for 鈥淸hitting] squarely on the truth of life, with its constant interplays and shadings of triumphs and tears.鈥 The production is part of 黑料不打烊 Stage鈥檚 2011-12 season and marks the 60th anniversary of Arc of Onondaga, the largest provider of services to people with developmental disabilities in Onondaga County.
Exhibitions and Screenings
Anderson-Staley鈥檚 work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions internationally and has been published widely in print and online. A former Light Work resident artist, she specializes in tintypes鈥攑hotographs popular in the 19th century made by creating direct positives on sheets of iron metal and then blackened by painting, lacquering or enameling. The exhibition 鈥淸hyphen] Americans鈥 alludes to the split character of American identities (e.g., Irish-American, African-American) and encourages the viewer to reconsider the boundaries of American identity politics.
Co-Sponsor: Light Work
鈥淚lluminating Oppression鈥 is an annual weekend festival exploring human rights issues through award-winning documentaries and feature films. For a complete listing of dates, times, screenings and associated panel discussions, visit .
Co-Sponsors: Digital Humanities Working Group of the CNY Humanities Corridor; S.I. Newhouse School for Public Communications; South Asia Center, Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs; and SU Library.
鈥淒olphin Boy鈥 follows the story of a young boy who disconnects himself from humans after a violent attack on his village. Dramatic complications ensue when his father takes him to 鈥渟wim with the dolphins鈥 off the Israeli port of Eilat. Written, directed and produced by Dani Menkan (鈥39 Pounds of Love鈥) and Yonatan Nir (鈥淐utting Away the Pain鈥), the documentary was shot over four years and vividly captures the healing power of nature.
Co-Sponsor: Visual Arts and Culture Working Group of the CNY Humanities Corridor
鈥淩aising Renee鈥 is the story of acclaimed artist Beverly McIver and her promise to take care of her mentally disabled sister, Renee, when their mother dies鈥攁 promise that comes due as Beverly鈥檚 career takes off. Filmed over six years by the award-winning team of Jeanne Jordan and Steven Ascher, 鈥淩aising Renee鈥 captures the tenacity of family bonds and the power of art to transform experience into something beyond words.
Co-Sponsors: School of Education and School of Architecture
Gates is a nationally recognized photographer whose work has been featured in dozens of publications, including National Geographic Traveler, Outdoor Photographer and Popular Photography. Since 2006, his photography has been the subject of more than 20 exhibitions throughout the Northeast, garnering him numerous honors and awards, including third place in the nature category of Photo Life magazine鈥檚 international competition.
Co-Sponsor: Media Finishings
Launched in 2001, 黑料不打烊 Symposium has become a fall tradition at SU, drawing thousands of people to free lectures, panel discussions, performances and exhibitions built on annual themes. Past symposia include 鈥淐onflict: Peace and War,鈥 鈥淢igration,鈥 鈥淛ustice鈥 and 鈥淟ight.鈥 Since 2009, the SU Humanities Center has organized and presented 黑料不打烊 Symposium for the college and the campus community.
