High Stakes Culture explores the “culture wars” that have recently been ignited across the country. Activists from all points of the political spectrum, even the President of the United States himself, are turning to beloved cultural objects to stake a claim for their differing beliefs in a politically fraught moment. Black athletes are taking a knee. Anti-immigration voters are rallying for a wall. Long-standing Confederate monuments are coming down.
What is at stake in the ways we understand culture and cultural conflict? High Stakes Culture is a series, presented by the Institute for the Humanities and the Humanities Collaboratory, that brings humanities perspectives to bear on current debates. Join us as we ask: How and why does culture matter so much now?
September 24, 5:30-7:00 pm
in the Atrium, 202 S. Thayer
The current debate over gender-neutral pronouns plays out on college campuses, on social media, and in offices across the country. Why are we thinking about pronouns in new ways? What are the politics and the history of the pronoun? And what do the conversations we are having about them reveal about American culture in this moment?
March 11, 5:30-7:00 pm
in North Quad Space 2435
Join us for a conversation about ‘blackface—then and now.’ What is it? Why does it still matter? Why was it a thing in 1880 and 1980? And why is it all over the news now?
October 24, 4:00-7:00 pm
in North Quad Space 2435
Are you tired of platforms that give trolls outsized influence? The digital is cultural and it has gotten ugly.
September 20, 2018, 5:30-7:00 pm
North Quad Space 2435
Join us for a conversation about Childish Gambino’s “This is America” and the sprawling, contentious conversation it sparked across the internet. What is he trying to say? How did the internet respond? How are our meaning making practices evolving?