MEADVILLE, Pa. – March 19, 2008 – Allegheny College will host a conference on white privilege and racism on April 4 and 5.
“This event will bring together scholars and students from a number of area colleges and universities concerned with investigating the hidden yet ubiquitous attitudes and points of ignorance that constitute white privilege,” Eric Boynton, assistant professor of philosophy and religious studies, said.
The conference, titled “Examining Whiteness,” consists of two main components: four plenary presentations and an undergraduate conference. Four eminent philosophers of race will give keynote addresses: Linda Martín Alcoff, Syracuse University; Charles Mills, Northwestern University; Lucius Outlaw, Vanderbilt University; and Shannon Sullivan, Pennsylvania State University.
Boynton and Professor of Philosophy Bill Bywater, who are coordinating the conference, have headed a campus-wide effort to weave the conference's themes into programs and curricula at Allegheny throughout the 2007-08 academic year. Some of the related collaborations that have occurred this year can be experienced in two free public events and in a Playshop Theatre production, all in April.
Eleanor Weisman, director of Dance and Movement Studies at the college, worked with alumna Charmaine Koehler Lodge to guide students in a new piece, “It's Elemental: She Doesn't Know What Grits Are,” which explores human group process and white privilege as an abstract movement expression. It will be performed in the Spring Dance Concert on April 3, 4 and 5 at 8 p.m. in the Montgomery Performance Space.
Also in conjunction with the conference, the spring concert by the Allegheny College Choirs will feature a number of African American spirituals, including a recently published spiritual by Allegheny alumnus Jeffrey Webb. The new Webb piece, which will be sung by the combined choirs, will be the concert finale. The concert is Saturday, April 12, at 4 p.m. in Shafer Auditorium.
Playshop Theatre's production of “Venus” offers a fierce exploration of race, oppression and exploitation—the historically true story of the Hottentot Venus, a black woman brought from Capetown to England in 1810 to be displayed as a freak. “Venus” will be presented April 17, 18, 19 and 20. For performance times and ticket information, call 814-332-3414.
For more information about the conference, call 814-332-5361 or visit www.allegheny.edu/ew.
