MEADVILLE, Pa. – Nov. 5, 2007 – The Allegheny College Humanities Lecture Series for 2007-2008 continues this month with a presentation on Monday, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. in Room 301 of the Campus Center. Assistant Professor of Communication Arts River Branch will present a public lecture titled “From Protest to Movement: Community-Based Media in Oaxaca, Mexico.”
On June 14, 2006, at 4:00 in the morning, roughly 2,500 armed troops entered the Zocalo, the heart of Oaxaca City. For several hours, police drove the protestors, a peaceful group of unarmed teachers, from the square. Late in the morning, the teachers fought back and reoccupied the Zocalo. Today the city remains in turmoil.
“Deaths, disappearances, detentions and on-going acts of state-sanctioned violence mark Oaxaca's struggle,” said Branch. “What shifted the events of June 14, 2006 from being one of the many crimes for which the people charge Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz into the spark for a popular people's movement?”
Branch will explore the pivotal role played by community-based media within the people's movement of Oaxaca. She argues that community-based media provided the essential vehicle for organizing, inspiring and informing the people of Oaxaca.
“Recognizing this, the state targeted and continues to target the individuals working within and the mechanisms of the community-based media network of Oaxaca — brutally beating and killing journalists and photographers and destroying community radio stations,” said Branch. “A vibrant, courageous and creative stand marks the people's response.”
Branch will show footage she shot during the summer of 2007 in Oaxaca and discuss the expanding definitions and practices of community-based media as they develop in concert with the people's movement of Oaxaca.
The Allegheny College Humanities Lecture Series includes one presentation each month throughout the academic year. All HLS presentations are free and open to the public. Mark Cosdon, assistant professor of communication arts and theatre, coordinates the Humanities Lecture Series. For more information, call 814-332-2304 or e-mail mark.cosdon@allegheny.edu.
