Histories of Race Topic of 9th Annual Shasha Seminar

“Histories of Race” is the topic of the 9th annual Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns to be held April 8-10, 2011.

During this weekend retreat, participants will examine the many histories of race, both past and present, with a group of internationally renowned scholars.

The Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns, endowed by the generosity of James J. Shasha ’50, P’82, GP’14, is an annual forum for alumni, parents, students and friends that provides an opportunity to explore issues of human concern in a small seminar environment.

Speakers will include:

Nell Irvin Painter, the Edwards Professor of American History at Princeton University, emerita, will lecture on “What the History of White People Can Teach Us About Race in America” in her keynote speech.

Robert Bernasconi, the Edwin Erie Sparks Professor of Philosophy at Penn State, will speak on “Race, Slavery and the Philosophers of the Enlightenment.”

Denise Buell, professor of religion at Williams College, will discuss “In Our Minds or in Their Texts? ‘Race’ and Early Christianity.”

Andrew Curran, professor of romance languages and literatures at Wesleyan, will speak on “Navigating the Histories of Race.”

Frank Dikötter, professor of modern history at the University of London, and chair and professor of humanities at The University of Hong Kong, will speak on “The Discourse of Race in Modern China.”

Bobby Donaldson ’93, professor of African American studies at the University of South Carolina, will discuss “An Outcast in Mine Own House: Black Intellectuals, White Supremacy and the American Color Line.”

Ruth Hill, professor of Spanish at the University of Virginia, will lecture on “Before Race: Folk Biology and Human Diversity in the Colonial and Early Republican Americas.”

Richard Weikart, professor of modern European history at California State University, Stanislaus, will speak on “The Scientific Origins of Nazi Race Theory.”

Registration opens in late January and is accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The registration fee for the Shasha Seminar is $250 per person. This fee includes the reception, dinner, and keynote address on Friday, April 8, all sessions on Saturday and Sunday, April 9 and 10, all meals, and conference materials.

Additional information on the Shasha Seminar will be posted online here. For questions or information, contact Gina Driscoll, associate director of development events, or Kathy Macko, administrative assistant for University Relations alumni education programs.