Wednesday, August 26, 2015

A Brief List of African American Philosophies



African American Philosophies can be viewed as lenses of understanding African American intellectual history.

Below are a few African American philosophies that we will be exploring over the course of this introduction to African American studies course.  Review all of them, get to know at least three philosophies intimately.  Be able to use them in discussions and when exploring historical or thematic content.  


·      Post-Colonial Theory
·      Black Existentialism, Jazz Theory
·      Black liberation theory
·      Critical Race Theories
·      Comparative race studies
·      Black existentialism
·      Whiteness Studies
·      Appalachia Studies
·      Rememory – Toni Morrison
·      Black Nationalism , inclusive of African National
Congress
·      Black Consciousness Movement
·      Cosmopolitanism
·      Afrocentricity  
·      Assimilation Politics
·      Interest conversion Theory (Derrick Bell)
·      Intersectionality
·      respectability 

·      Affrilachia 

Please post each definition separately below in the comments box.  

CFP on African American Intellectual History   http://aaihs.org/2016-aaihs-conference/



The Education of a Storyteller by Toni Cade Bambara (The People Who Could Fly)

from http://www.amazon.com/The-People-Could-Fly-Folktales/dp/0679843361

Today, we read The Education of a Storyteller by Toni Cade Bambara. What are your thoughts about the story?  How did the story affirm, challenge or change your understanding of American culture, African American culture, literature and/or black feminisms/womanisms/girlhood?

Bonus what might this story reveal about The Middle Passage?


Monday, August 24, 2015

Events














"Hey everyone,

Our next meeting is Thursday, October 29th, 7:30pm at the Willy T Starbucks. We will be work-shopping this meeting, so come prepared to critique and/or share. If you are planning on coming, please let us know. Also, if you would like everyone who RSVPs to have an electronic copy ahead of time, email us your piece.

Writing Events & Opportunities:
Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Jon Meacham Talk – Tuesday, Oct. 13, 7:00 pm, Singletary Center for the Arts. Meacham will present the first annual Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Lecture, honoring the late U.S. Senator and Kentucky Governor. Ford, a longtime advocate for the Martin School, was the principal sponsor of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, sometimes called the “motor voter act.” Meacham’s address will highlight the eveningprogram in the Recital Hall of the Singletary Center for the Arts and is expected to focus on current and future developments in voting rights and elections.

Visiting Writers Series: A reading by Roxane Gay  Wednesday, Oct. 14, 8:00pm, Singletary Center for the Arts. "Roxane Gay’s writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Best American Mystery Stories 2014, Best American Short Stories 2012, Best Sex Writing 2012, A Public Space, McSweeney’s, Tin House, Oxford American, American Short Fiction, West Branch, Virginia Quarterly Review, NOON, The New York Times Book Review, Bookforum, Time, The Los Angeles Times, The Nation, The Rumpus, Salon, and many others. She is the co-editor of PANK. She is also the author of the books Ayiti, An Untamed State, Bad Feminist, and Hunger, forthcoming from Harper in 2016."


A great opportunity for undergraduates interesting in being published:
"Indiana Review and Indiana University’s W280 Literary Editing and Publishing course have decided to team up and create a space for any currently enrolled undergraduate student to submit POETRY or SHORT FICTION (up to 5000 words) to us for consideration in our once-annual issue of Indiana Review Online: an Undergraduate Project. This inaugural issue will be published on Indiana Review’s website in January 2016 and will be wholly edited by undergraduate IU students enrolled in the course."
http://indianareview.org/2015/07/announcing-indiana-review-online-an-undergraduate-project/

VIP Solidarity Slam  – Wednesday, October 28th, 7-9pm, rm 114CB (Whitehall). If you are interested in performing, please contact carol.tyler@uky.edu.
Thanks,
Yvonne
Co-President"



Dear All,

UK Education Abroad will hold its annual Fall Fair on Thursday, September 17 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Buell Armory (next to the Main Building).

The Education Abroad Fair showcases a wide range of education abroad programs, including faculty-directed programs, exchanges, consortia programming, and much more.  Students can learn more about international internships, service-learning opportunities and conducting research abroad.  In addition, campus offices involved in the education abroad planning process, such as  the Office of Student  Aid and the Stuckert Career Center will have representatives available to answer questions. 

Please encourage your students to attend the Fair.  You might also recommend that students review our discipline-specific MAPs. UK Faculty and advisors are also encouraged to attend.  

For more information about the Education Abroad Fair, please click here.










University of Kentucky Constitution Day 2015
Town Hall Forum
“The Power of Symbols: Confederate Imagery in the Public Space”

September 9, 2015 – The tragic massacre of 9 African American congregants at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston and the subsequent removal of the Confederate flag from the grounds of the South Carolina capitol have generated a national conversation on the appropriateness of Confederate symbols and imagery in the public space.  Kentucky has found itself in the middle of this conversation, with public debate centering on the statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in the Frankfort capitol rotunda and the statue of Confederate General John Hunt Morgan at the Lexington Courthouse. 

Confederate imagery – flags, monuments, statues, and paintings – are regarded by many as symbols of racism and slavery that should be removed from the public square.  Others view them as historic artifacts that remind us of our complicated past and should not be hidden away.  Still others consider Confederate symbols, including the rebel battle flag, as emblems of Southern heritage and pride. 

In recognition of Constitution Day, the Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) Program and the Division of Undergraduate Education (UGE) at the University of Kentucky will host the town hall forum “The Power of Symbols: Confederate Imagery in the Public Space.”  This town hall forum will explore diverse issues and perspectives regarding the exhibition of Confederate monuments, flags, and symbols on public land and in public buildings.  Panelist will thoughtfully and respectfully explore the history of Confederate images, elicit public discussion regarding the influence of Confederate symbols, and explore potential responses and resolutions for moving forward. 

This town hall forum will be held on Thursday, September 17, 2015 from 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. in the University of Kentucky’s William T. Young Library Auditorium, located at 401 Hilltop Ave., Lexington, KY.  This forum is open to the public.  Community members, students and faculty at the University of Kentucky and surrounding colleges and universities are encouraged to attend.  Submit questions and comments regarding this town hall forum using the hashtag #UKYTownHall.  Your tweets may be addressed or included in the forum.     

UK will also host a number of other Constitution Day events.  For more information on the town hall forum or other Constitution Day events, please visit the UK Undergraduate Education website at http://www.uky.edu/UGE/constitution-day.  The press is invited to cover this event. 



College of Arts and Sciences
Passport to the World / Year of Europe 2015-2016 Kick-Off Event!
Thursday, September 3 from 12-2 on the Memorial Hall Lawn
There will be free food, music, and Year of Europe t-shirts as well as access to a wealth of information on upcoming Year of Europe events, courses, Education Abroad opportunities and more.
The A & S Passport to the World Program enables the College to embark on yearlong explorations of the culture and history of a particular region or country in an effort to engage our community in crucial global conversations through public lectures, cultural events, coursework and travel opportunities. After past programs focused on South Africa, China, Russia's Realms, Mexico, and the Middle East. A&S is shifting its focus to Europe for the 2015-2016 academic year. Updated information throughout the year can be found on the Year of Europe website: http://europe.as.uky.edu .
Please encourage your students to attend!











LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 1, 2015) — For centuries, African Americans in the United States have had to overcome a lack of resources chronicling individuals' lives and culture in the nation's early history based on bigotry and societal status. Today, the black community's LGBTQ* members face similar obstacles in capturing their story. Scholar Jennifer Jones will speak to these difficulties at a talk at the University of Kentucky beginning 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, in the Great Hall of the Margaret I. King Library Building. The event is free and open to the public.






The Girl Project - Tickets are $15 for Adults and $10 for students and can be purchased in advance (highly recommended). I will be at each of the performances this week and if you come to Saturday's performance you can catch my small cameo in the show as well as engage in the Post-Show Panel Discussion facilitated by Margaret McGladrey (Assistant Dean for Research, UK College of Public Health) and Ed Morris (UK Department of Sociology). 



Kentucky Women Writers Conference - September 10-12, 2015 - More info