University Hour

VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY HOUR — Spring 2021

• February

  February 10, 2021

  Dismantling & Decolorizing the Arts: An Undoing of Racist Systems in Arts and Cultural Institutions

  Adriane Jefferson, executive director of the Department of Cultural Affairs for the City of New Haven, will discuss her work to improve diversity and cultural equity in opportunity and representation in arts and cultural institutions in New Haven. Jefferson has spent much of her career working to provide opportunities in the arts for the underrepresented. She has worked to confront racial implicit bias and on dismantling systems of racism, especially in the arts, including the creation of “The Arts for Anti-Racism pledge.”

  Contact: Brian Day, daybr@easternct.edu

  February 17, 2021

  New Beginnings: Justice Alternatives Through the Arts

  Judy Dworin will discuss her innovative arts outreach for women at York Correctional Institution and men at Cybulski Community Reintegration Center, and for individuals returning from York and Cybulski to their communities. She will reflect on how this work informs a different perspective on who is behind bars, examining the positive changes that can and do occur, and supporting a rehabilitative and strengths-based approach to incarceration and reentry. This workshop will show how to bring the authentic voices and real-life experiences of women and men from prison to the stage, integrating movement, spoken word and song to examine the choices and twists of fate leading to incarceration.

  Contact: Theresa Severance, severancet@easternct.edu

  February 24, 2021

  Karen Finley: A Heroine of Performance Art

  In this collaborative project with the Eastern Theatre Department, renowned performance artist Karen Finley will participate in the Eastern art exhibition in spring 2021. Finley also has agreed to be in residency Feb. 16-18 to work with students in Professor James Holland’s Experimental Theatre class. Her focus on issues of power inequities, race, ethnicity and gender are relevant to all academic disciplines.

  Contact: Yulia Tikhonova, tikhonovay@easternct.edu

• March

  March 3, 2021

  Growing Their Own: Lessons from Community-Driven, Feminist Technology Design

  Transformative fandom, a longstanding, technology-agnostic community of content creators, remixers and fans, serves as an example of how technology can empower marginalized communities. For example, “Archive of Our Own,” a fanfiction repository with millions of users and works, was developed entirely by the community it serves, with a focus on representing the values of that community in its design and policies. This talk by Casey Fiesler traces the growth and features of the archive, including grassroots development and values-based, feminist design, and also considers more generally computational projects in fandom that provide lessons for inclusive, feminist design and ways to engage underrepresented groups in computing.

  Contact: Sukeshini Grandhi, grandhis@easternct.edu

  March 10, 2021

  The Radical Power of Children’s Books: The responsibility of truth-telling in children’s literature

  The #weneeddiverse movement in children’s literature exposed institutional racism in the industry and spurred change the children’s book market. With an influx of diverse books for young readers being published, the community is at a nexus point — to welcome new voices, prioritize OwnVoices, and shift who gets to be the hero. But change isn’t comfortable. Dhonielle Clayton, author and COO of the non-profit We Need Diverse Books, will discuss the responsibilities of scholars and writers to be beacons of truth for all readers.

  Contact: Lisa Fraustino, fraustinol@easternct.edu

  March 24, 2021

  Theatre/Film Talk-Back

  This moderated Q&A conversation on the Theatre Program’s production of “Blood at the Root” includes student directors and others involved in the show. It is designed to engage with audience members and create a deeper understanding of the production's content and meanings. 

  Contact: Kristen Morgan, morgankr@easternct.edu or DeRon Williams at williamsdero@easternct.edu

• April

  April 7, 2021

  We Need to Talk: Arts & Sciences

  As part of the Art Gallery’s “The Arts of Science” exhibition (March 17 – April 27), the gallery will host a mediated forum led by an invited artist and joined by Eastern science faculty to have a conversation about the interrelationships between the arts and sciences.

  Contact: Yulia Tikhonova, tikhonovay@easternct.edu

• May

  May 5, 2021

  Theatre/Film Talk-Back

  This moderated Q&A conversation on the Theatre Program’s production of “Cultivating Dignity” includes student directors and others involved in the show. It is designed to engage with audience members and create a deeper understanding of the production's content and meanings. 

  Contact: Kristen Morgan, morgankr@easternct.edu