Annual Lectures on Multiculturalism
In 1995, University of Rhode Island Multicultural Center initiated its Annual Lectures on Multiculturalism. Initially, the Annual Lectures sought to define the impact and role of multiculturalism on various disciplines and populations within higher education. At the outset, the initial intent of the Annual Lectures was to explore the unique perspectives associated with multiculturalism as a field of study. As the "social construction of reality" paradigm became more prominent in global academic discourse about multiculturalism, the Annual Lectures quickly began to focus on the ways in which we create and negotiate interactions centered around knowledge, identity, power and community.
1994, bell hooks, then a professor of English at City University of New York, and one of America's leading public intellectuals, delivered the inaugural lecture, challenging teachers to reconfigure the power dynamic between students and faculty in the classroom as a means of improving the quality of education. In 2007, she is a distinguished professor in residence at Berea (KY) College.
In 1996, Christopher Edley, Jr., then a professor of law at the Harvard University, and Special Counsel to President Bill Clinton, provided a glimpse of his role in internal discussions about the role of affirmative action, civil rights and diversity in public policy as a White House official. In 2007, he is Dean and Professor of Law at The University of California at Berkeley.
The attached articles provide current updates on hooks and Edley as the first two presenters in the Annual Lectures on Multiculturalism.
Articles on bell hooks:
- http://www.international-womens-month.co.uk/articles/bell_hooks.html
- http://www.berea.edu/bcnow/story.asp?ArticleID=474
Articles on Christopher Edley:
- Article by: Melvin Wade
