Provost's Conversations on
Diversity, Democracy, and Higher Education

• Fall 2004
• Spring 2005
• Fall 2005
• Spring 2006
• Fall 2006
• Spring 2007
• Fall 2007
• Spring 2008
• Fall 2008
• Spring 2009
  

Fall 2004

Last White Witness: Dealing with the Collective Amnesia over Segregation
September 30, 2004, 12:00 - 1:30 p.m., Nyumburu Cultural Center
Author Diane McWhorter, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, will discuss her feature-title book.

Redlining: It's not just for housing anymore
October 12, 2004, 12:00 - 1:30 p.m., Nyumburu Cultural Center
Filmmaker Dan Banda discusses his documentary, Redlining: Its not just for housing anymore, about his journey from central Mexico to his home town of Milwaukee, WI, one of the nation's longstanding segregated cities.

The Browning of America: Implications for Diversity in Higher Education
November 2, 2004, 12:00 - 1:30p.m., Nyumburu Cultural Center
Dr. Joseph White, Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of California, Irvine, will discuss higher education in the 21st Century as we move toward the browning of America and how we can make higher education more inclusive, inviting, and welcoming.

Our Ethnic Studies
November 17, 2004, 12:00 - 1:30 p.m., Nyumburu Cultural Center
Gary Okihiro, Professor of International and Public Affairs and Director of the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race as well as Asian American Studies Program at Columbia University, will speak to the connections among peoples of color, including Asian and Pacific Islanders, African Americans, Native Americans, and Latina/os. His talk will detail those links in education (our ethnic studies) and music (Hawaiians and African Americans). Assistant Professor Mark H. Lopez, from the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, will serve as the discussant.

"Trans-Formations": Dean Spade
November 22, 2004, 12:00 - 1:30 pm, Nyumburu Cultural Center
In conjunction with the Trans-Formations Lecture Series, activist and founder of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, Dean Spade, will discuss issues pertaining to transgender people and the intersections of cultural theory and public policy concerns.

Spring 2005

The Failures of Integration: How Race and Class are Undermining the American Dream
Tuesday, February 8, 2005, 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm, Nyumburu Cultural Center
**Book signing will take place at 11:30 am**
Sheryll D. Cashin offers a provocative look at how segregation by race and class is ruining American democracy. Only a small minority of the affluent are truly living the American Dream, complete with attractive, job-rich suburbs, reasonably low taxes, good public schools, and little violent crime. For the remaining majority of Americans, segregation comes with stratospheric costs. In a society that sets up “winner” and “loser” communities and schools defined by race and class, racial minorities in particular are locked out of the “winner” column. African-Americans bear the heaviest burden. But with the expensive price tag attached to “winner” communities, middle income whites also struggle to afford homes in good neighborhoods with acceptable schools.

The Coming "Minority" Majority and other Diversity Challenges: Margin Notes of an Asian American Writer
Tuesday, February 22, 2005, 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm, Nyumburu Cultural Center
Co-sponsored by the LGBT Studies Program and Asian American Studies.
The American people are turning more colored, the queers are getting married, the feminists are still marching-what other evils are lurking as "minorities" become the majority? Students of today face different challenges than those of yesteryear, but how different? Can we move on to new conversations and images that this new generation offers? Writer and activist Helen Zia shares her personal observations and experiences about these dynamic times from her work for social justice.

Fall 2005

Of God and War: Religion, Government Power, and the Nation State
September 19, 2005, 12:00 - 1:30 p.m., Nyumburu Cultural Center
Professor of Political Science Emeritus at the University of California, San Diego and Author Peter Irons will discuss his book War Powers: How the Imperial Presidency Hijacked the Constitution as well as his current book project God on Trial: America's Growing Religious Wars.

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The Hidden Cost of Being African American
November 2, 2005, 12:00 - 1:30p.m., Nyumburu Cultural Center
Pokross Professor Thomas Shapiro of Law and Social Policy at The Heller School for Social Policy and Management from Brandeis University will present on his notable work and book on the major developments in racial inequality and the racial wealth gap during the past decade.

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A Conversation with Patricia Hill Collins
October 20, 2005, 12:00 - 1:30 p.m., Nyumburu Cultural Center
Held by the Consortium on Race, Gender, and Ethnicity and co-sponsored by the University Maryland's Library Diversity Committee and the Provost's Conversation Series, University of Maryland Professor and the leading voice of Black Feminism, Patricia Hill Collins will be speaking as part of a Graduate Colloquium on "New Commodities, New Consumers: Selling Blackness in the Global Marketplace."

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Intersectionality and New Media Audiences: Popular Racial Formations on the Internet
October 31, 2005, 12:00 - 1:30 pm, Nyumburu Cultural Center
Co-sponsored with the Asian American Studies Program, Assistant Professor of Communication Arts and Visual Culture Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Lisa Nakamura will discuss issues pertaining to new media theory, Asian American media, and digital visual culture.

She is the author of Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet (Routledge, 2002) and a co-editor of Race in Cyberspace (Routledge, 2000). She has published articles on cross-racial roleplaying in Internet chatspaces, race, embodiment, and virtuality in the film The Matrix, and political economies of race and cyberspace. She has completed a book manuscript entitled Visual Cultures of the Internet which is forthcoming from the University of Minnesota Press in 2006.

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The Indian Mascot Issue
November 14, 2005, 12:00 - 1:30 pm, Nyumburu Cultural Center
Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne & Hodulgee Muscogee) is a poet, writer, lecturer, curator and policy advocate, who has helped Native Peoples recover more than one million acres of land and numerous sacred places. She has developed key federal Indian law since 1975, including the most important national policy advances in the modern era for the protection of Native American cultures and arts: 1996 Executive Order on Indian Sacred Sites ; 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act; 1989 National Museum of the American Indian Act ; and 1978 American Indian Religious Freedom Act . 

Ms. Harjo is President and Executive Director of The Morning Star Institute, a national Native rights organization founded in 1984 for Native Peoples' traditional and cultural advocacy, arts promotion and research. Additionally, Ms. Harjo is one of seven prominent Native Americans who filed the Morning Star-sponsored lawsuit, Harjo et al v. Pro Football, Inc., regarding the name of Washington's professional football team, before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Board in 1992. They won in 1999, when a three-judge panel unanimously decided to cancel federal protections for the team's name because it “may disparage Native Americans and may bring them into contempt or disrepute.” Their victory was reversed in federal district court in 2003, and is pending before the federal appeals court, which heard oral argument on April 8, 2005.

Spring 2006

Gloria Ladson Billings
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Co-Sponsored by the Maryland Institute for Minority Urban Education
“What if we leave ALL the children behind: The challenges of teaching and learning in urban schools”
February 9, 2006, Nyumburu Cultural Center at noon

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Jacqueline Jordan Irvine
Emory University
Co-Sponsored by the Maryland Institute for Minority Urban Education
"What Hurricane Katrina uncovered about Schooling in America ”
February 22, 2006, Nyumburu Cultural Center at noon

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Walter Allen
University of California , Los Angeles
“Deja Vu...All Over Again: Race, Opportunity and Higher Education-- Reflections from 30 years in the Trenches”
February 23, 2006, Nyumburu Cultural Center at noon

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Mildred Garcia
Berkeley College
Co-Sponsored by the Latina/o Graduate Student Association and Hispanic Heritage Coalition
March 16, 2006, Nyumburu Cultural Center at noon

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Pedro Reyes
University of Texas-Austin
Co-Sponsored by the Maryland Institute for Minority Urban Education
“Hispanics in the United States : Schooling, Achievement and Policy Implications”
March 29, 2006, Nyumburu Cultural Center at noon

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Aida Hurtado
University of California , Santa Cruz
Co-Sponsored by Latina/o Graduate Student Association and Hispanic Heritage Coalition “The Universal Importance of Gender Equity”
April 6, 2006, Nyumburu Cultural Center at noon

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Amitava Kumar
Vassar College
Co-Sponsored by the English and Comparative Literature Departments
“If you live in history, do you belong to one nation alone? Or, one religion? One identity?”
April 12, 2006, Nyumburu Cultural Center at noon

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William Tate
Washington University
Co-Sponsored by the Maryland Institute for Minority Urban Education
“A Matter of Public Interest: Schools, Neighborhood, and Social Inequality”
April 19, 2006, Nyumburu Cultural Center at noon

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Faisal Alam
Founder & Director of Al-Fatiha
Co-Sponsored by LGBT Studies, Asian American Student Union, and the Pride Alliance
“Hidden Voices - The Lives of Queer Muslims”
April 27, 2006, Nyumburu Cultural Center at noon

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Latina/o Access & Success Project
University of Maryland , College of Education
Research Project Findings
May 3, 2006, Nyumburu Cultural Center at noon

Fall 2006

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"Can Religion Be a Bridge for Peace?"
 Discussion led by Carlos Cortes, Professor Emeritus of the University of California, Riverside; Rabbi Gerry Serottam of the Temple Shalom; and Iman Yahya Hendi of Georgetown University.   This event is co-sponsored by the Office of Human Relations Programs, the Interfaith Dialogue Project, Resident Life, Multicultural Involvement and Community Action, and the Campus Chaplains.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006, in the Maryland Room, Marie Mount Hall

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"Framing the Issues: Rebuilding After Hurricane Katrina"
This event will be in conjunction with the ‘Rebuilding with Tools for Social Justice: Hurricane Katrina One Year Later Symposium’ led by Dr. Patricia Hill Collins, Dr. Mary C. Waters, and Mr. John O’Neal. This event is co-sponsored by the Consortium on Race, Gender, and Ethnicity.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006 in the Colony Ballroom, Stamp Student Union

"A Symposium on African American Education"
This discussion will be led by Dr. Odis Johnson of the Department of African American Studies, Dr. Courtland Lee of the Department of Counseling and Personnel Services, Dr. Carol Parham of the Department of Education Policy and Leadership, and Dr. Jennifer D. Turner of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. This event is co-sponsored by the College of Education and the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.
Thursday, October 26, 2006 in the Multipurpose Room, Nyumburu Cultural Center

Thomas Friedman
"The World is Flat"
A First Year Book discussion with Thomas Friedman. This event is co-sponsored by the First Year Program
Wednesday, November 1, 2006 in Tawes Fine Arts Building

Elaine Brown
"Condemnation in the Black Community: A Conversation with Elaine Brown"
This discussion will be led by writer and activist Elaine Brown. 
Thursday, November 9, 2006 in the Multipurpose Room, Nyumburu Cultural Center

"What is it Like to Be a Sexual or Gender Identity Minority? Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender and Work at College Park"

"A Conversation with Charles Ogletree"
Professor Charles Ogletree of Harvard University Law School

This event is co-sponsored with the Norman and Florence Brody Public Policy Forum, "Policy Watch with Doug Besharov"

February 27, 2007, in Colony Ballroom, Stamp Student Union

"Internationalization of Higher Education"
A discussion with Professor Jonathan Jansen of University of Pretoria

March 1, 2007, in the Multipurpose Room, Nyumburu Cultural Center

"A Conversation with Glenn Loury"
Professor Glenn Loury of Brown University

This event is co-sponsored with the Norman and Florence Brody Public Policy Forum, "Policy Watch with Doug Besharov"

March 27, 2007, in Colony Ballroom, Stamp Student Union

*See the linked document for the Selected Reading List[.doc]
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"Peace Education: New Models for School Organization and Teaching Innovation"
A discussion with Professor Jing Lin of University of Maryland

April 18, 2007, in the Multipurpose Room, Nyumburu Cultural Center

This event is co-sponsored with the Norman and Florence Brody Public Policy Forum, "Policy Watch with Doug Besharov"

"A Conversation with Professor Ronald Walters"
Professor Walters of the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland

This event is also co-sponsored with the Norman and Florence Brody Public Policy Forum, "Policy Watch with Doug Besharov"

April 24, 2007, in Colony Ballroom, Stamp Student Union

"From Widow to 'Welfare Queen': Race and the Reconstruction of Welfare"
A discussion with Professor Premilla Nadasen of Brooklyn College, CUNY

May 2, 2007, in the Multipurpose Room, Nyumburu Cultural Center

"Fences, Towers, and Tunnels: Can the Federal Crackdown Tame the Lawless U.S.-Mexico Border?"
A discussion with Richard Marosi, writer for the Los Angeles Times

May 8, 2007, in the Multipurpose Room, Nyumburu Cultural Center

"Constitution Day Event"

Mr. Duncan spoke about one of our country's most important documents.  He currently serves as the Chief Administrative and Finance Officer for the campus.  He oversees seven departments including University Human Resources, Comptroller, Public Safety, Facilities Management, Environmental Safety, Business Services, and Procurement and Supply.

Dr. Sharon Snyder and Dr. David Mitchell, University of Illinois at Chicago

This conversation will offer an exploration of how culturally-rooted disability studies seeks to accomplish curricular as well as social change under the direction of
university-based programs and the inclusive efforts of disability services offices.

October 10, 2007, in the Maryland Room, Marie Mount Hall

“Democracy and the Multiversity Project”

Dr. Pat Gurin, University of Michigan

October 25, 2007 in the Multipurpose Room, Nyumburu Cultural Center

“Race in Institutions of Higher Education”

Dr. Howard Stevenson, University of Pennsylvania

This conversation will examine the experience of being a minority in higher education-- the discomforts, the obligations, and the requirements.

November 8, 2007, in the Multipurpose Room, Nyumburu Cultural Center

Dr. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Duke University

November 15, 2007, in the Multipurpose Room, Nyumburu Cultural Center
***See the linked document for the Selected Reading List[.doc]

“From Sodomy Laws to Marriage Amendments: A History of Sexual Identity/Politics”
A Conversation with George Chauncey

*This event was Co-Sponsored with the Office of LGBT Equity and the Program in LGBT Studies 

George Chauncey, Yale University Professor of History

Thursday, February 21, 2008.

Scholar of 20th century U.S. history and lesbian and gay history, Professor Chauncey is the award winning author of Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940 (1994) and Why Marriage? The History Shaping Today’s Debate over Gay Equality (2004).

This talk analyzes the changes over the course of the twentieth century in gay life, in American sexual politics, and in marriage itself that propelled the gay marriage issue to the forefront of American political and moral debate.

Please click the link to view the Annotated Reading List prepared by Otis and Marie Chadley, UM Libraries.

Jeffrey McCune, Jr., University of Maryland Assistant Professor of Women’s Studies and American Studies

Thursday, March 6, 2008.

This conversation is the beginning of research which engages contemporary black female impersonations by heterosexual black men and queer white men.

Through close examinations of certain moves across gender and race, McCune discusses new technologies, new racism/sexism, and the politics of camp as active agents in the framing of stereotypes as "accurate."

While challenging the idea of racial accuracy, he asserts that it is the dialectical relationship between camp and notions of the accurate that inform public fascination with black female impersonations, outside the context of drag culture.  This conversation forges an important conversation around the politics of impersonation and appropriation.

Please click the link to view the Annotated Reading List prepared by Otis and Marie Chadley, UM Libraries.

This talk will explore what's behind the legal and political struggles over affirmative action on college campuses.  Veteran education journalist Peter Schmidt argues that the debate has been distorted by both sides' unwillingness to discuss issues of class and the grip that the economically privileged have on selective colleges and universities. Higher education institutions claim to be defending diversity, but what they seem most worried about losing is the almighty dollar.

Please click the link to view the Annotated Reading List prepared by Otis and Marie Chadley, UM Libraries.

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“Journey from the Land of No”
A Conversation with Roya Hakakian

Roya Hakakian, Yale University Fellow
    
Wednesday, April 16, 2008.

"Stopping Genocide in Darfur:
What You Can Do"
A Conversation with John Prendergast

James Loewen, Professor and Acclaimed Author
-September 24, 2008

James Loewen is the author of Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your High School History Textbook Got Wrong (1996), Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Got Wrong (1999), and Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism (2005). He will discuss his critique of existing American history textbooks, uncovering the
conflict, unresolved drama, and connection with currentday issues, which is often missing from their accounts.  He will also address his research on the thousands of communities in America (called “sundown towns”) that kept out African Americans (or sometimes other groups) by force, law, or custom.

This event was co-sponsored by the History Department.

Please click to view the annotated reading list prepared by Otis and Marie Chadley, UM Libraries.

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“The Constitution and 9/11: Recurring Threats to America’s Freedoms”

Louis Fisher, Specialist in Constitutional Law, Law Library, Library of Congress
-September 25, 2008

Louis Fisher is a senior specialist in separation of powers with the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress. Dr. Fisher’s specialties include constitutional law, war powers, budget policy, executive-legislative relations, and judicial-congressional relations. He is the author of more than 300 articles in law reviews, political science journals, encyclopedias, magazines, newspapers, and books, including The Politics of Executive Privilege (2004) and Military Tribunals and Presidential Power: American Revolution to the War on Terrorism (2005).

This event was co-sponsored by the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences.

The author of the New York Times bestselling book, Slavery by Another Name (2008), discusses how the enslavement of African-Americans was resurrected after the Civil War, how it continued until the dawn of World War II, and what our country's legacy of racial injury means at a time when an African-American holds our nation's highest office.

A podcast of this Conversation is now available. Please click the "download" link to begin downloading to your computer.  For information on podcasts, please visit OIT.

Please click to view the annotated reading list prepared by Otis and Marie Chadley, UM Libraries.

This moderated panel will feature five University of Maryland professors from across the disciplines and will focus on the experiences of being a woman and a person of color in individual departments as well as in academia more generally.

Featured panelists:
Professor Ritu Agarwal, Robert H. Smith's Dean's Chair of    Information Systems

Professor Kandice Chuh, English Department's Director of Graduate Studies

Professor Carol Sheffey Parham, Chair of the University of Maryland's President's Commission on Women's Issues and Interim Associate Chair of the College of Education's Department of Education Leadership, Higher Education and International Education

Professor Ruth Zambrana, Graduate Director in the Women's Studies Department and Director of the Consortium on Race, Gender and Ethnicity

This event was co-sponsored by the College of Education, the Smith School of Business, and the Department of Sociology.

An audio recording of this Conversation is now available. Please click the "download" link to begin listening on your computer. 

Please click to view the annotated reading list prepared by Otis and Marie Chadley, UM Libraries.