435 S. State St.
Ann Arbor
MI 48109
The African American Literature and Culture Now symposium brings together a group of leading scholars in African American humanistic fields to identify and discuss the central questions that animate 21st-century Black Studies.
Held over two days, the symposium features a keynote lecture, “The End of Black Studies,” from Stephen Best (Berkeley), three panels comprised of guest speakers and Michigan respondents, a writing workshop for graduate students and postdocs, and a concluding roundtable focused on teaching. Over the course of the symposium, conversations will range across a number of vital topics including: nation/diaspora; political activism; historicity; gender/sexuality; and cross-media cultural production.
In addition to keynote speaker Stephen Best, the symposium’s guest speakers are Margo Crawford (UPenn), Madhu Dubey (UIC), Erica Edwards (Rutgers), Emily Lordi (UMass/Vanderbilt), Kevin Quashie (Brown), and Courtney Thorsson (Oregon).