Today’s News from the University of Kansas
Headlines
KU College will host ‘Russia and Race’ lecture series
LAWRENCE— An upcoming lecture series at the University of Kansas that begins next week will look at the historical and contemporary meaning of race in Russia. The first virtual event will be a lecture by Jonathan Flatley, Wayne State University, titled “’Our Friend Angela’: The Black Communist Star,” at 4 p.m. Sept. 9.
School of Architecture & Design hosting annual prospective student event
LAWRENCE — Each September, the School of Architecture & Design opens its doors to give prospective undergraduate students a preview of what it is like to study the design fields at the University of Kansas. KU Architecture & Design Day allows prospective students the chance to explore the school’s diverse programs, tour facilities, meet current students and have their portfolios reviewed by faculty. The event will be held virtually this year from noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 12.
Full stories below.
————————————————————————
Contact: Justyna Beinek, Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies, [email protected]
KU College will host ‘Russia and Race’ lecture series
LAWRENCE— An upcoming lecture series at the University of Kansas that begins next week will look at the historical and contemporary meaning of race in Russia.
“Race has been a complicated category in scholarly investigations of Russia due to its historical absence both during tsarist times and the Soviet period during which the significance of race was diminished in efforts to promote an anti-racist and color-blind global image of the USSR as superior to the United States,” said Ani Kokobobo, associate professor of Russian and lecture series organizer.
The “Russia and Race” Lecture Series 2020-2021 begins at KU with a key address by Jonathan Flatley, Wayne State University, titled “’Our Friend Angela’: The Black Communist Star,” at 4 p.m. Sept. 9. The lecture, which stands at the nexus of African-American and Russian studies, uses “race” as a lens of inquiry, focusing on Davis’s status as a Black communist celebrity and subject of massive solidarity campaigns in the Soviet Union, East Germany, Cuba and around the world. Flatley probes how Davis presented a compelling figure for the Soviet Union to anchor an anti-American, anti-racist propaganda campaign, but her stardom was in tension with the communist emphasis on solidarity and collectivity, and Davis herself explicitly resisted the focus on herself as an icon. Register here for the Zoom lecture.
Upcoming events:
Sept. 17: “Russia and Blackness: African American and African Experience in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia,” Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon, University of Pennsylvania
Oct. 1: “On Teaching American Students how ‘Race’ Works in Russia,” Anne Lounsbery, New York University
Oct. 8: “Was Soviet Internationalism Anti-Racist? Toward a History of Foreign Others in the USSR,” Anika Walke, Washington University in St. Louis
Oct. 16: “Understanding Race in Imperial Russia: Categories of Difference Across Cultures,” Nathaniel Knight, Seton Hall University.)
All webinars begin at 4 p.m. Registration is available here: https://crees.ku.edu/crees-events-fall-2020.
The series “seeks to reevaluate understandings of race in Russia, excavating its history, evolution and contemporary meanings, even if the term is largely avoided in the Russian public discourse,” said Kokobobo, who is also chair of the Department of Slavic and Eurasian Languages & Literatures and interim director of the Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies, both event sponsors. Additional sponsors are the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Department of African & African-American Studies.
———————————————————————
The official university Twitter account has changed to @UnivOfKansas.
Refollow @KUNews for KU News Service stories, discoveries and experts.
————————————————————————
Contact: Dan Rolf, School of Architecture & Design, 785-864-3027, [email protected], @ArcD_KU
School of Architecture & Design hosting annual prospective student event
LAWRENCE — Each September, the School of Architecture & Design opens its doors to give prospective undergraduate students a preview of what it is like to study the design fields at the University of Kansas. KU Architecture & Design Day allows prospective students the chance to explore the school’s diverse programs, tour facilities, meet current students and have their portfolios reviewed by faculty.
Architecture & Design Day will be held virtually this fall from noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 12. Although prospective students will not be on campus this year, the event will provide a detailed look at what to expect as a student in one of the school’s six freshman-entry programs:
- Architecture
- Illustration & Animation
- Industrial Design
- Interior Architecture
- Photography
- Visual Communication Design
During this year’s event, prospective students will also learn about the school’s recently renovated studios and makerspaces, technology and laboratory upgrades, and a major studio reorganization project that has given each program a unified set of spaces in the heart of KU’s historic district. These facility improvements were designed to not only provide students access to the best learning tools and creative spaces, but also to further support the close-knit studio culture unique to the School of Architecture & Design.
Follow this link to learn more about KU Architecture & Design Day and to register.
Contact April Czarnetzki with questions about the event.
————————————————————————
KU News Service
1450 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence KS 66045
Phone: 785-864-3256
Fax: 785-864-3339
Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]
Today’s News is a free service from the Office of Public Affairs
From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu
