Fall 2019 Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) learning circle facilitated by University Librarian, Leah Dunn, and Tiece Ruffin. (Not open to the Public)
African American Resilience: 400th Anniversary of the Arrival of the First Enslaved Africans in the English Colonies (Thursdays, 12-1: Sept 12, Oct 10)
Facilitators: Tiece Ruffin & Leah Dunn
During October 20-25, 2019, UNCA’s Africana Studies program will host a 400 Years (1619-2019) of African American Resilience commemoration, marking 400 years since enslaved Africans arrived in Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. Temple professor and philosopher Dr. Molefi Kete Asante will deliver a keynote address on October 24 (6 pm) focused on the beginning of the transatlantic slave trade and the perseverance and resilience of its displaced and scattered survivors. This learning circle focuses on Asante’s 2019 book of poems, 400 Years Witnessing, described by one reviewer as “profound expressions of literary artistry and insight.”
Additionally, we have the following planned for the Week of October 20-25, 2019:
Sunday, October 20, 2019
The Department of Music presents-
Aesthetics of the Afro-Americas featuring the UNC Asheville Djembe ensemble, AfroBrazilian ensemble, Blues Piano, Choir spirituals and Funk ensemble.
Time: 5:30 pm
Location: Lipinsky Lobby; Free and open to the Public!
Monday, October 21, 2019
Lunch-n-Learn–The Cape Coast Castle Dungeons: The Darker Side of Modernity (UNCA only, not open to the public)
Facilitated by Drs. Agya Boakye-Boaten & Jeremias Zunguze, Africana Studies
Time: 11:00am – 12:15 pm
Location: Zeis 202
Our presentation challenges the ideas that European modernity has Europe and/or the New World as the starting points of the modern project. Through the Cape Coast castle dungeons we demonstrate that Africa is another epicenter of European modernity. In fact, the architectural design of the castles and its dungeons, the slavery/colonial administration and its hierarchies, and their use from the 15 century (the beginning of slavery) throughout the mid-twentieth century (the Scramble for Africa) have the same worldview used in the foundation and maintenance of the New World’s social structure. Like the American and Caribbean social order, the dungeons are founded on “coloniality of power” or legacy and practice of colonialism, such as the control of society through the economy, polity, knowledge, and subjectivity using race/racism as the organizing principle. The Cape Coast Castle dungeons continue to be symbols of European modernity as their constitution, temporality, and meaning remain in place today globally as much as they are symbols of African resistance and resilient presence into the modern project.
Africana Studies in collaboration with Residential Education presents–
Sankofa Film screening (125 minutes; 1993)
Short Q and A after screening
Time: 7:00-9:30 pm
Location: Highsmith Student Union Grotto (Free and open to the public)
Considered a ‘highly lauded and moving film’ by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History & Culture.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019 :
Lunch-n-Learn with the UNC Asheville Afro Music and Dance Ensemble
Facilitated by Mustapha Braimah , Toby King , and Adama Dembele
Time: 11:45am-1:00 pm
Location: HighSmith Student Union Grotto (UNCA only, not open to the public)
Participatory hands – on session with the opportunity to make music and try out dances!
Wednesday, October 23, 2019 :
Office of Multicultural Affairs presents — Black History 101 Mobile Museum and founder Khalid el-Hakim
Exhibit: 9:00am – 4:00pm
Lecture: 12:00 pm – 1:00pm
Location for Exhibit & Lecture: Blue Ridge Room in Highsmith Student Union (free and open to the public)
The Black History 101 Mobile Museum (BH101MM) is an innovative traveling tabletop exhibit depicting Black memorabilia spanning slavery to Hip Hop. The museum has over 5,000 rare treasures among its collection, including original documents from historic Black figures whose contributions helped shape the United States. About the exhibit, the museum’s founder Khalid el-Hakim states, “My mission is to raise the consciousness of the human family by sharing artifacts that celebrate the contributions, achievements, and experiences of African Americans”.
Ramsey Library at UNC Asheville Presents –
The People Not Property Project and Black Resistance in Western North Carolina
Time: 4:00- 5:30pm
Location: Ramsey Library (Refreshments will be served; Free and open to the public)
Dr. Brian Robinson will discuss The People Not Property Project and the Digital Library on American Slavery in the context of the black experience and slavery in North Carolina. His talk will focus specifically on the impact of these projects on the study of slavery in Western Carolina with an emphasis on black resistance.
Thursday, October 24, 2019:
Keynote address featuring a preeminent Afrocentric theorist
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Molefi Kete Asante (Free and open to the Public)
Time: 6:00 pm
Location: Lipinsky Auditorium
o Introit music/performance by UNC Asheville’s Afro Music & Dance Ensemble
o Artistic dance featuring Mustapha Braimah, Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance
With sponsorship from UNC Asheville’s Africana Studies Program, Chancellor Nancy Cable, NEH Distinguished Professor in the Humanities, Office of Multicultural Affairs, Residential Education, Office of the Provost, Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs, and Belk Distinguished Professor
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