Friday, August 30, 2013

Local Cultural Events

Greetings, AAS 200.

I am listing local cultural events pertaining to African American and ethnic studies. Most of them are free. You may want to check them out. 


Monday, Oct 21 - 7:00 pm W.T. Young Library @ University of Kentucky





Past Events:
September 1st  3-5pm. The Lyric Theatre & Cultural Arts Center, along with Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Kentucky, are happy to announce the Lyric Theatre’s Summer Film Series. This free  film series will take a nostalgic look back at a variety of films defining different eras in African American cinema. From the musical styling of Lena Horne in the 1943 classic ‘Stormy Weather’ to the comedic styling of Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier in 1975′s ‘A Piece of the Action’, the films in this series serve to both entertain and also provide a chance for a younger generation to participate in the movie-going experience and culture of times past.

September 7, 2013 10am – 12pm
This two mile walking tour will start at The Lyric Theatre and proceed out E. Third Street to the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden, up Nelson Avenue to William Wells Brown School, down Fifth Street to Race Street and back to Third Street. Participants will learn of the plans for the Memorial Art Garden, the development of Nelson Avenue, the history of the old Kentucky Association Race track and of the housing that developed on the property. As we come down Race Street more information about the residents on the street and why the name was changed from Lincoln Street to Race Street. Tour will be led by local Historian Yvonne Giles. Wear comfortable shoes and clothing suitable for the weather.

September 7, 2013 - Roots and Heritage Festival at the Lyric Theatre
4:00pm “Coal Black Voices” documentary
Coal Black Voices is an intimate mosaic of images, poetry, and storytelling by the Affrilachian Poets as they give glimpses of life in the American Black South and Appalachian region.

5:00pm “Affrilachian Poets Showcase”
As experienced in The Roots & Heritage Festival’s initial years, The Lyric Theatre is bringing back the Affrilachian Poets- this time to The Lyric stage.


Saturday, September 7th 4pm – 5pm at the Lyric Theater. Monica Blackmun Visona`, Ph.D. is giving a gallery talk in the exhibit of African objects hosted by the Lyric Theater,  addressing questions like:

  •      If you purchase a statue from an African vendor, are you stripping the continent of its cultural heritage? 
  •      Why would sculptors in Cameroon create bronze images of Nigerian king?  
  •      Is the mask that you purchased in Kinshasa worth any money today?  


Remember that the Roots and Heritage festival will in full swing, so leave enough time to find a place to park.

September 9, 8:00 pm at Transylvania University 
Malian artist will be performing at Transylvania University. The concert is free and it's at 8pm.  More details on the event can be found in the link below.
http://www.transy.edu/about/spotlight/SidiTourePoster.pdf


Thursday Sept. 12 at 10 PM
Free screening of THE GREAT GATSBY, co-sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta and the Night Night Film Series. Get there early, at 9:30 or so, to get a good seat, free popcorn, and a chance to win our drawing or our trivia contest.  Prizes include copies of THIS SIDE OF PARADISE (F. Scott Fitzgerald's first novel, set at Princeton University),  the soundtrack to GATSBY, Starbucks giftcards, and more.

Sleep Dealer is set in a near-future, militarized world marked by closed borders, virtual labor and a global digital network that joins minds and experiences where three strangers risk their lives to connect with each other and break the barriers of technology

Thursday, September 19 5:30
Diversity in the Headlines: Stand Your Ground- A Dialogue on the Trayvon Martin Trial
Thursday, September 19th in the Martin Luther King Center @ 5:30pm - Soup Provided!!!
 

Sep. 25th, 7:30 PM at the MLK Center. Gustavo Arrellano, author of Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America and the syndicated Ask a Mexican column, will be giving a talk for the UK's Year of Mexico.





Oct 8 Carnegie Center - Kentucky Great Writers series reading event. 
The fun starts at 7:00 with an open mic, and we hope GCWA members will come out and read their works! There is a 3 minute limit per reader. Then at 7:30, we’ll have readings by thriller writer David Bell (Never Come Back), Affrilachian Poet Kelly Norman Ellis (Offerings of Desire), and Kentucky Literary Award Winner James C. Nicholson (Never Say Die). Admission is free.





A Mercy by Toni Morrison: Chapter 1

Greetings, AAS 200.
We also read, reviewed and explored the first chapter of Toni Morrison's A Mercy.  The are several audio clips of the first chapters of A Mercy and an introduction of book on NPR's (National Public Radio)  website.  


Our class discussion considered four aspects of the reading. 
  •  Who is the protagonist of the novel, inclusive of a character description, thoughts and actions?
  •  What is her ancestry, nationality, ethnicity, cultural affiliations, and race?
  •  List three interesting observations about the protagonist.
  •  Consider how these observations confirm, challenge or complicate your previous conceptions of  and previous narratives concerning African Americans in the United States, particularly the colonial period. 
I enjoyed our brief discussion about how slavery may have impacted men and women differently. I also liked how many situated ideas of 'hope'. For example, mobility may have meant better opportunities for slaves.  Great job @ contributors!  

If you have further considerations about the reading or want to add to the discussion, please post.

Yours truly,
Dr. Hill









Nikky Finney's 2001 National Book Award Acceptance Speech

Greetings, AAS 200,

In 2011, former University of Kentucky Professor and Poet, Nikky Finney won the National Book Award for Poetry. The title of her award winning book is Head Off & Split.

We watched a clip of her acceptance speech in class. Some in our classroom community were very interested in the content of the speech and how it framed our understandings of African American Studies.

If you have any additional considerations, comments or questions, please post them on our blog.  The link to Prof. Finney's acceptance speech is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2q15iiL79g


Todays Powerpoint (AAS 200 -1) can be found on the UK Blackboard site.

Enjoy your weekend!


Yours truly,

Dr. Hill


http://aaas.as.uky.edu/
http://www.as.uky.edu/
http://www.uky.edu/




Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Welcome to the African American and Africana Studies




Greetings, AAS 200.


This course establishes the intellectual context for an examination of the African-American experience; it introduces students to the various approaches scholars use to analyze that experience. This course employs a topical framework which permits focus on issues reflecting the diversity and richness of African-American experience across geographic boundaries.

As we discussed in class, this course will challenge the student to learn in physical and digital environments. We are going to be using an anthology entitled: The African-American Odyssey,Combined Volume (5th Edition) by Darlene Clark Hine, William C. Hine, and Stanley C Harrold in addition to blogs, videos, streamed lectures, archives, open access institutional resources and websites.

If you would like to contact me, I can be reached using the information on the syllabus or via email damaris.hill@uky.edu.  I am excited to learn with you!

Dr. Hill