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44th Annual W.E.B. Du Bois Lecture

Part of our Fall 2022 Humanities Forum

Location

University Center : Ballroom

Date & Time

November 9, 2022, 5:00 pm8:00 pm

Description

The Department of Africana Studies presents:

44th Annual W.E.B. Du Bois Lecture and 50th Anniversary of Africana Studies

Cultural Memory and Mythology: Africana Agency in the Face of Exile

Christel N. Temple, Professor, Africana Studies; and Affiliate of the Graduate Program for Cultural Studies, the Critical European Culture Studies, and Africana Studies programs, University of Pittsburgh

In this talk, Christel N. Temple will discuss how diasporic experiences of exile, both as cultural memory as recollection and cultural mythology as sacred storytelling of this recollection, are catalysts for exploring new ways to itemize survival and inheritance throughout the African Diaspora.

Biography: Christel N. Temple is Professor of Africana Studies and an affiliate of The Graduate Program for Cultural Studies (CLST), the Critical European Culture Studies doctoral program (CED), and the African Studies Program (ASP). Professor Temple received her B.A. from the College of William and Mary, where she majored in History, her M.A. in Comparative Black Literature from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and her Ph.D. in African American Studies from Temple University. Her major fields of interest are Africana Cultural Memory Studies, Comparative Africana Literature, Black Nationalism, Pan-Africanism, and Afroeuropean Studies. Dr. Temple’s publications include Black Cultural Mythology (SUNY, 2020) which won the College Language Association’s Book Prize in 2021; Transcendence and the Africana Literary Enterprise (2017); Literary Spaces: Introduction to Comparative Black Literature (2007); Literary Pan-Africanism: History, Contexts, and Criticism (2005); a co-edited volume on Muhammad Ali in Africana Cultural Memory (2022) with James L. Conyers, Jr.; and a number of essays, articles, and reviews.

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Africana Studies: Creating a Program Space and Place at UMBC and the Greater Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Communities

Donald G. Murray, Jr., former faculty, UMBC Department of African American Studies/Africana Studies and pioneer director of its Community Involvement Program

In this talk, Donald G. Murray, Jr. will assess the successes and shortcomings of the AAS/AFST Community Involvement program and make suggestions for its future course for the next 50 years.

Biography: Donald G. Murray, Jr. is former faculty in UMBC’s African American Studies/Africana Studies department and the pioneer director of its Community Involvement program. He is also the former director of the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs; campaign director of D.C. mayoral candidates (1990s-2000s); former social worker; and chair of the Humanities Council for Washington, D.C (2000s).

To celebrate their 50th anniversary, the Department of Africana Studies will host additional events on November 10th and 11th. Please visit africanastudies.umbc.edu for more information.

Cosponsored by the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; the Center for Social Science Scholarship; the Dresher Center for the Humanities; the Office of Alumni Engagement; the Division of Professional Studies; the Department of American Studies; the Department of English; the Department of Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies; the Department of History; the Language, Literacy and Culture Program; the Department of Psychology; The Shriver Center; and the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health.

Photo of Christel N. Temple provided by speaker.

In-person with simultaneous streaming via dreshercenter.umbc.edu.

Image description: A Black woman with dark curly hair is smiling with her face close to the camera.

UMBC is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive environment for all students, staff, and visitors. If you would like to request a disability-based accommodation on site or have questions about this event or its location, please contact us at dreshercenter@umbc.edu.