Drama and Speech Communication Department Colloquim

[Juli-Ann Sannuto]

Faculty and staff are invited to hear Professors Simpson and Young speak about their latest books at a Drama and Speech Communication Department Colloquium, "Examining the Neoliberal University and White Narratives of Race." Discussion will follow and light refreshments will be provided. The colloquium will take place in EV3 4412 from 1:30-3:00 PM on Friday, January 23.

Professor Young's edited volume (with Clair Oberon Garcia and Charise Pimentel), "From Uncle Tom's Cabin to The Help: Critical Perspectives on White-Authored Narratives of Black Life," boldly investigates the promise and perils of racial ventriloquism, that is, when white authors appropriate the history and stories of black life. While narratives films such as The Help, Django Unchained, and The Blind Side have achieved popular acclaim, they have also been the subject of critical controversy, demonstrating that the much touted 'post-racial America' has yet to come to terms with the power of race in contemporary imaginative and social lives.

Professor Simpson's monograph, "Longing for Justice: Higher Education and Democracy's Agenda," combines personal narrative with critical analysis to make the case for educational practices that connect to questions of democracy, justice, and the common good. In a bold challenge to conventional wisdom about Higher Education, Simpson argues that today’s neoliberal educational norms foreground abstract concepts and leave the complications of real life, especially the intricacies of power, unexamined. Analysing modern teaching techniques, including service learning and civic engagement, Simpson concludes that for Higher Education to serve democracy it must strengthen students’ abilities to critically analyse social issues, recognize and challenge social inequities, and pursue justice.




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Sylvia Hannigan

Administrative Assistant

Speech Communication

ML 235

University of Waterloo

Waterloo ON  N2L 3G1

Telephone (519) 888-4567, ext. 35058

Fax: (519) 888-4304

Email shannig at uwaterloo.ca<mailto:shannig at uwaterloo.ca>

http://www.speechcommunication.uwaterloo.ca
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