October 2009 EventsMulticultural Welcome Dinner and Dessert Reception for New StudentsTuesday, October 6th, 2009
LGBTQ Allies Tea SocialThursday, October 8th, 2009
Women of Color Faculty/Staff LuncheonWednesday, October 14th, 2009 "Searching for Whitopia"Tuesday, October 27th, 2009Noon - 1:00 pm Wiegand Room, Arts & Sciences Building Rich Benjamin, author: "Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America" (October 2009) will speak about his new book. Rich Benjamin is a scholar, lecturer, and commentator on contemporary American politics and culture. He was educated at Stanford University, where he received his PhD in Modern Thought and Literature, and he served as a visiting scholar at Columbia University Law School. Benjamin is currently a senior fellow at DEMOS, a progressive national think tank based in New York City. SEARCHING FOR WHITOPIA is his first book. Books will be available for purchase after the event. Your America, The Two Americas: a discussion with Rich Benjamin BOOK DESCRIPTION: A gifted black journalist's frightening narrative exploration of-- and revelations about-- the new migrations of white Americans from increasingly diverse suburbs to fast-growing enclaves of white homogeneity. "Searching for Whitopia" delves into the hearts and homes of white Americans who are fleeing the cities and states where they are increasingly the minority for small towns and exurban areas that are virtually all white. Rich Benjamin dubs these places "Whitopias" (pronounced "White-o-pias"). Benjamin, a black American with a companionable writing style, lived for three months among white Americans in three Whitopian enclaves: Forsyth County, Georgia; Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; and St. George, Utah. Through experiencing real people and unearthing startling statistics, Benjamin shows how global, economic and migratory forces have created a perfect storm of anxiety among many white Americans--and he looks with them as they try to find and hang on to a lost America. Through memorable characters and scenes, the book focuses on this phenomenon in a way that does justice to its psychological and cultural implications as well its possible impact on the future of the United States. The book includes chapters written after President Obama's election. Co-sponsored by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, the Office for Multicultural Learning-Office of the Provost, the Commonwealth Club, and the Multicultural Center. Félix Gutiérrez and Claudia Núñez
Thursday, October 29th, 2009 The bicentennial of Latino newspapers in the The program includes a preview screening of the documentary "Voices for Justice: The Enduring Legacy of the Latino Press in the U.S.", an exhibit showcasing key Latino newspapers and the stories they have reported over the past 200 years, and a PowerPoint presentation by Félix F. Gutiérrez, Professor of Journalism, Communication and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California, a Latino media journalist and scholar for more than 40 years. "For more than 200 years Latino newspapers have been Voices for Justice in a nation that promises justice, but does not always deliver it to all within its borders," Gutiérrez said. "The progam will show how newspapers advocated independence and freedom across the hemisphere, spoke against Yanqui violence after the U.S. took the Southwest from México, helped newcomers become Americanos, encouraged young Latinos to advance themselves in the 1930s and 40s, were advocates for Chicano and other liberation movements of the 1960s and 70s, and are a growing force in U.S. as other media declare bankruptcy." Claudia Núñez, a reporter for La Opinión newspaper in Los Angeles, documented the struggles of Oaxacan villagers who were lured to San Jose and Los Angeles by false promises of well-paying jobs, then ended up as virtual slaves in small restaurants and taquerias. Her reports on human trafficking challenged the Latino community to acknowledge exploitation from within. Co-sponsored by the Office for Multicultural Learning-Office of the Provost, the Latino Faculty Group, MEChA, and the Communication Department. |
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