Indigenous Rights, Sherlock Holmes Topics of Upcoming Salon Series Discussions

Wesleyan’s Green Street Arts Center continues its Fall 2010 Sunday Salon Discussion Series with talks by J. Kehaulani Kauanui, associate professor of American studies and anthropology on Oct. 24, and Stephanie Weiner, associate professor of English, on Nov. 21.

The Sunday Salon Discussions are informal lectures by Wesleyan’s faculty. The Wesleyan and local communities are invited to attend. David Beveridge, the Joshua Boger University Professor of the Sciences and Mathematics, professor of chemistry, hosts the event. Each salon includes opportunity for socializing as well as a reception with light refreshments.

On Oct. 24 from 2 to 3:30 p.m., J. Kehaulani Kauanui will address the outstanding Hawaiian independence claim and the persistent issue of sovereignty facing the Kanaka Maoli (indigenous Hawaiian) people.

She will also give a brief history of the U.S. government’s acquisition of Hawaii, and the spectrum of political activism relating to self-determination and nationhood. The talk is especially timely given legislation currently before the U.S. Senate, The Native Hawaiian Reorganization Act of 2010 (dubbed the “Akaka bill” after its sponsor Sen. Daniel Akaka), which has been proposed in one version or another since 2000 and remains hotly contested in both congress and the islands.

Kauanui is the producer and host of the public affairs radio program, “Indigenous Politics: From Native New England and Beyond,” now in its eighth season, which airs on WESU 88.1 FM in Middletown and is syndicated through the Pacifica Radio Network across seven states. From 2005-2008, she worked to co-found the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association, and currently sits on the council as an elected officer.

Stephanie Weiner will speak on “Sherlock Holmes’ London on Paper, Canvas and Film” from 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 21.

This salon examines how various representations of London managed both to document the city as it was and to be “fascinating and artistic” in and of themselves. Weiner will look at Conan Doyle’s stories, maps, photographs, paintings by artists such as James Abbot McNeill Whistler, poems by writers such as Oscar Wilde and at recent Sherlock Holmes films.

Her talk is co-sponored by the Graduate Liberal Studies Program.

At Wesleyan, Weiner researches how 19th-century English poets explored the relation between knowledge and sense experience, in particular the interaction between observed and described sounds on the one hand and linguistic sound patterning on the other. Her latest articles show how various poets sought to bring these two layers or aspects of sound together.

The suggested donation for these talks is $5. For more information call 860-685-7871.