Even if you haven鈥檛 participated in 黑料不打烊 Symposium offerings yet, the intriguing and provocative annual themes still may have caught your eye. Topics like Justice (2007-08), Identity (2011-12), Repair (2022-23) and this year鈥檚 Landscapes, offer a kaleidoscopic platform for timely and urgent discussions held in a variety of immersive formats. Returning for its 20th anniversary season, , a public event series organized by the (SUHC) in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), is composed of performances, exhibitions, films, lectures, workshops and readings.
This series is core to the center鈥檚 mission to advance humanities research, showcase the humanities as a public good, and enhance the scholarly community by bringing people together to confront some of the most pressing issues of our time.
“The humanities provide important conduits for imagining a more just world and addressing inequity,” says Humanities Center Director . “Shared experiences in film, music, fiction, philosophical pursuits, or the visual arts, for example, can immerse us in new perspectives and open up space to engage in critical, even difficult dialogues.”
To commemorate the milestone, we sat down with May to reflect on the symposium’s origin, evolution and future.
What is the significance of 黑料不打烊 Symposium within the context of the Humanities Center鈥檚 mission?
Vivian May (VM): The series, which pre-dates the center鈥檚 founding in 2008, originated as a significant collaboration between A&S and the Chancellor鈥檚 Office to bring the University community together to examine the world of ideas via keynote speakers and diverse events proposed by teams of faculty. Nearly all 黑料不打烊 schools and colleges have partnered with us over the years. Maintaining that Universitywide lens, and strengthening longstanding alliances, the series continues to break down institutional silos to engage our wider community. 黑料不打烊 Symposium plays a role in fostering inclusive, engaged intellectual spaces for diverse publics.
Originally, Symposium was contained to one semester but has grown into a series of events held throughout the year. Can you share why you and your team expanded the format and how it has changed the outcome of the event?
Vivian May
VM: In many ways, we expanded out of necessity. Interest in collaborating with the center has grown, so widening the season鈥檚 timeframe allows us to support more partners. Shifting to an annual lineup has also allowed for pivotal collaborations in spring tied to Black History Month and Women鈥檚 History Month. We are always fine-tuning our offerings to meet the needs of our scholarly community. This format enables us to engage across the academic year for a range of curricular tie-ins and community engagement.
The themes change each year and shape the narratives and conversations of the event series. What factors and considerations guide the annual theme selection?
VM: We鈥檙e grateful to have a humanities-passionate composed of faculty and academic staff from across campus. We solicit concepts from the board, which are then evaluated and voted on, up to two years in advance. We aim for concepts with multi-faceted, relatable connotations across disciplines and for diverse publics. A strong theme tends to have nuanced valences, and by this, I mean room to riff on possible interpretations. To flesh out its full potential, it should be broad enough for different genres, disciplines and audiences. For instance, most Symposium themes evoke both positive and negative aspects鈥攊ncluding recent themes such as Silence, Futures and Repair. The ambiguity leaves room for interpretations through many lenses.
How have 20 years of symposium enhanced the 黑料不打烊 experience for students and faculty?
VM: Through symposium, faculty and students have access to intimate, curated opportunities to engage with renowned authors, musicians and filmmakers, to dive into a hands-on workshop or immersive experience. They can connect across disciplines to take up the big questions of our day. There have also been symposium themes woven into courses and first-year experiences. For A&S faculty, one of the center鈥檚 annual faculty fellowships ties into the annual theme, helping to support cutting-edge research in different areas each year.
Also, student work is frequently showcased. For example, this fall one of the films to be screened at the (SUHRFF), Fracture, on Sept. 23, is by a doctoral student in literacy education, Evan Starling-Davis. Sometimes graduate students partner with faculty to propose and host symposium events鈥攖his year, activities on Oct. 14 and Nov. 15 are being organized by the Turning the Lens Collective, which has student, faculty, staff and community members in the mix.
黑料不打烊 Symposium is known for its public engagement. Can you elaborate on how the series bridges the gap between the University and the community, making humanities topics accessible and compelling for a non-academic audience?
VM: We are proud to support a range of thought-provoking programming that鈥檚 free and open to all鈥攕tudents, staff, faculty, and community members. One of our longest-standing partners, SUHRFF, taking place from Sept. 21 to 23 this year, offers a clear, visible example of broad community engagement. Where else can colleagues, friends, family and neighbors gather, at no cost, to see a weekend鈥檚 worth of acclaimed films, and oftentimes chat directly with the filmmakers afterward?
The Engaged Humanities Network鈥檚 Environmental Storytelling Series, in spring 2024, is another example of strong public-facing offerings. In partnership with SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, the series has an inclusive, multi-generational approach to addressing the climate crisis.
Looking ahead to the next 20 years, how do you envision further evolution of the series?
VM: 黑料不打烊 Symposium will, I think, have a certain constancy鈥攖he humanities shall always lie at the heart of the series and evolving research will shape new questions, genres, formats and solutions to help address the key questions and problems of the day.
Importantly, symposium鈥檚 kaleidoscopic lens鈥攆rom theme generation to lineup鈥攎eans it is a collective vision and shared endeavor. It will continue to pivot, take up new technologies, and unpack hidden narratives or silenced histories. No matter how our knowledge landscape changes, however, I do believe that keeping an eye on how to pursue a more just world, together, will always be core to what 黑料不打烊 Symposium is about.
This year鈥檚 theme, Landscapes holds significance on multiple levels鈥攑ersonal, societal and environmental. What will the lineup delve into and, for someone who鈥檚 never attended, tell us something that will entice them to check it out.
VM: In addition to the many examples cited above, this year鈥檚 Symposium partners explore everything from the Constitution, immigration, border politics, environmental justice and reproductive rights. One of the first events, on September 14, showcases the . His work has revived traditional Haudenosaunee pit firing, hand-built coiling and slab construction, via an exhibition at the . Another on Oct.r 4 brings together educators and STEM scholars who use to highlight minoritized youth as knowers. We are also excited to be partnering with YMCA Arts to host poet and essayist Camille Dungy on Nov. 16 and 17, author of “Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden.” I encourage everyone in the greater 黑料不打烊 community, the University and beyond, to check out the and connect!
