Panel Discussion: “Run With Me”: Contemporary Portraits of the Underground Railroad
Featuring Dr. Shelby Crosby (English), Dr. Brian Kwoba (History), and Mr. Corey Reed
(Philosophy PhD Student)
Thursday, September 27, 2018
6:00 PM
Fountain View Room, 350 University Center, University of Memphis Campus
Convenient parking in Zach Curlin Garage
Pizza and drinks will be served.
Explore portrayals of the underground railroad, past and present. This panel considers
a variety of portraits of the underground railroad, paying special attention to why
it is such a durable metaphor in American memory. It is part of the annual citywide
Memphis Reads program, whose 2018 book selection, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, imagines the the underground railroad as a literal railroad
to different racial regimes in a fictional antebellum American South.Sponsored by: Marcus W. Orr Center for the Humanities, University of Memphis African
and African American Studies, University of Memphis African American Literature Concentration,
Memphis Reads, International Paper, and Follett. This project is funded under a Grant
Contract with the State of Tennessee. It is also funded in part by a grant from South
Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Tennessee Arts
Commission. For more information, go to www.memphisreadsbook.org.
Join us for an evening of libation and conversation at Maciel’s Taco Shop on the Highland
Strip. The 2018 Marcus W. Orr Center for the Humanities Freeburg Faculty Fellows will
share their research over tacos and drinks, with plenty of time for questions and
discussion. MOCH will provide the tacos. Maciel’s full menu of beer, wine, cocktails,
and food will be available for purchase.
Vania Barraza Toledo, Chilean Cinema in the World: Politicized Intimacy/Global Aesthetics
Benjamin Graham, Dark Age Lights: Artificial Illumination in Early Medieval Rome
Katherine Lambert-Pennington, Cultivating Change: Agriculture, Development and Transformations in Political Culture
in Southeastern Sicily
Students, faculty, and staff are invited to join us for snacks, coffee, and a conversation
about the future of the humanities. Donal Harris, Assistant Professor of English,
will lead our discussion. Our reading for this meeting is Christopher Newfield, “What
Are the Humanities For?: Rebuilding the Public University,” Chapter 10 in Gordon Hutner
and Feisal G. Mohamed, A New Deal for the Humanities: Liberal Arts and the Future of Public Higher Education (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 2016), 160-178. This reading is available from the
U of M library with login credentials. Contact Sarah Potter if you need assistance.
