In his keynote, West addresses story telling as a form of community building using examples from his latest works, the album Snapshots and a volume of poetry, now in its second edition, Red Dirt Revival: a poetic memoir in 6 Breaths. Leading up to the keynote, West hosts a reading and question and answer session in the Library Fishbowl (room 209) from 1 to 2:30 p.m. The Campus Dialogue on Race takes place in several campus locations, from Nov. 1 to Nov. 8. Check the website for full details.
West is the author of a number of books, including BARE: notes from a porchdweller, Flirting, and the forthcoming pre|dispositions. He has also released nine hip hop albums and held a number of secondary and post-secondary institution teaching positions, including Humboldt State University as an Ethnic Studies instructor. Currently West is director of Youth Programs at Center On Halsted in Chicago, which serves more than 1600 LGBTQA youth in the Chicago area. He works particularly with HIV-positive youth, and he runs programs such as the weekly hip hop lyricism workshop “Wordplay with a purpose.”
Other highlight events include Trystan T. Cotten’s talk, “Transsexual Men, Genital Surgery, and Cultural Theory,” on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. in the Native Forum, sponsored by the Department of Psychology. Cotten is associate professor of Gender and African American Studies at CSU Stanislaus and the author of numerous books, journal articles and anthologies.
The theme of this year’s Campus Dialogue on Race is “(In)Justice and Resistance: Past, Present and Potential,” and it runs from Nov. 1 (with events celebrating Day of the Dead) through Nov. 8. The weeklong event also includes the interactive Tunnel of Oppression in the J (Nov. 6 at 5:30 and 7 p.m.), which aims to educate and challenge participants to think more deeply about issues of oppression, privilege and power. A workshop led by Biological Sciences Professor Bruce O’Gara (Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.) explores the benefits and challenges of being a student of color pursuing research on campus and in the community. “Criminality of Blackness: Carrying Skittles and Arizona” is one of several events addressing racial profiling, this one presented by Terrevia Shirley, Lomika Purdy and other students from the Black Student Union on Nov. 5 (5pm).
Themes of education justice, food politics, racial profiling, disability justice, environmental activism and more will be discussed during the weeklong event, with presentations led by HSU faculty members and students. To learn more about the Campus Dialogue on Race, including a full schedule of events, visit Humboldt.edu/dialogue.