Diversity events to connect with 'The Race Experience' kiosk
October 22, 2012
Several events by the Diversity Resource Office and others are scheduled for Oct. 23-27, coinciding with the visit of "The Race Experience" kiosk at Purdue and promoting discussion of race and diversity.
The kiosk, which has image-morphing software to see oneself with facial characteristics of six racial categories, is in the west lobby of Stewart Center, under the mural, through Oct. 29 and available through all building hours. More about the kiosk is at www.purdue.edu/newsroom/purduetoday/releases/2012/Q4/the-race-experience-morphs-face-image,-invites-discussion.html.
The Diversity Resource Office has three events on Tuesday (Oct. 23), including a Diversity at Work framework-setting session for faculty and staff and an address by Leonard Harris, professor of philosophy and African American studies:
* 10 a.m.-noon: "Can We Talk About Race?" A Diversity at Work open module facilitated by Suzanne Thompson Clemenz, graduate teaching assistant, Women's Studies Program. 10 a.m.-noon. Preregistration required at http://diversityatwork-race.eventbrite.com. A focus of this session will be an exploration of the role and responsibility of all staff and faculty in issues concerning race.
* 4:30-6 p.m.: "Does Difference Matter?" A DiversiKey discussion. DiversiKey is a certificate program for students promoting leadership skills in the context of diversity. Stewart Center, Room 307; RSVP to cdmunt@purdue.edu recommended.
* 6 p.m.: Address by Leonard Harris. "Is Race Real?" Harris, who has been honored by the American Philosophical Association, was editor of the noted book "Racism." Stewart Center, Room 322.
On Wednesday (Oct. 24), DRO is offering a showing of a widely praised independent film called "Arranged," based on true events. Two young schoolteachers in New York, one an Orthodox Jew and the other a Muslim, become friends and discover that they both are about to enter arranged marriages. The American Studies Graduate Student Organization is co-presenter. (2007, comedy/drama, 90 minutes, English/Hebrew/Arabic.) 7 p.m. Rawls Hall, Room 1062.
Another DRO film showing is set for Thursday (Oct. 25), co-presented by the Native American Educational and Cultural Center and the Office of Multicultural Programs in the College of Agriculture. The documentary "The Creek Runs Red" will be shown in recognition of Green Week. The film tells how lead mining poisoned Oklahoma town beyond capacity of Superfund to clean it up. (2007, documentary, 60 min.) 6-9 p.m. Rawls Hall, Room 1086.
Also Wednesday, the Division of Diversity and Inclusion will have the second in its 2012-13 series "One Community: The Danger of a Single Story." This panel discussion, at 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., is "Somos Latinos (We Are Latinos): Latino Identities in Academia." The event is free but registration is requested by today (Oct. 22) at http://1community.eventbrite.com; also there is a link (bottom of screen) to a video to watch before attending. The session is coordinated by the Latino Cultural Center.
On Thursday through Saturday, two keynote speeches and a musical performance that are free and open to the public will highlight the national conference Association for Black Culture Centers, hosted by the Black Cultural Center at Purdue. The conference's other sessions require a registration fee. The public events:
* Opening keynote. At 7 p.m. Thursday, Lori Patton Davis, a leading authority on university cultural centers, will speak at the Black Cultural Center.
* Music. At 8 p.m. Friday, the IU Soul Revue will perform in Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse, offering genres from R&B to contemporary urban, including Motown. The performance is sponsored by BCC.
* Closing keynote. At 8 p.m. Saturday, Michael Dyson, a contributing editor to Time magazine and an NPR program host, will speak. Dyson, also University Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University, is regarded as a leading public intellectual.
More about the AABC conference is at www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2012/Q4/purdue-university-black-cultural-center-to-co-host-association-for-black-culture-centers-conference.html.
Another resource suggested by DRO is the PBS series "Race: The Power of an Illusion." Information is at www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm.
