Announcement: Dr. Shirley Thompson Participates in Roundtable on "12 Years a Slave"
The John L. Warfield Center for African & African American Studies and the Texas Institute for Literary and Textual Studies (TILTS) invite you to a roundtable discussion of 12 Years a Slave on Thursday, February 6, at 5pm in the Santa Rita Suite (3.502) of the Texas Union. The film, directed by Steve McQueen from an adapted screenplay by John Ridley, tells the story of Solomon Northup, a free man kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841, and it has been nominated for 9 Academy Awards. 12 Years a Slave has sparked national and international debates about slavery, American history, the representation of American history on film, and the experiences of African and African diasporic actors and filmmakers in Hollywood.
The roundtable will be moderated by Helena Woodard of the Department of English. Panelists include UT professors Daina Ramey Berry (History), Eddie Chambers (Art and Art History), Mark Cunningham from the Department of Radio, Television, and Film at Austin Community College, and our very own Shirley Thompson (American Studies).
Link Round-Up! Security/Insecurity in the News, Oct. 25 - Nov. 8
Hey folks! Here's what's what in the news world re: security and insecurity.Sex Machines: a new game takes the human-machine relationship to its logical extreme. (Slate) Frank Rich writes on the politics of 12 Years A Slave (New York Magazine)The secrets of the world's happiest cities: what makes a city a great place to live – your commute, property prices or good conversation? (The Guardian)What 1984 can teach us beyond the dangers of surveillance (Salon)Ender’s Game vs. The Hunger Games: a military analysis (Wired)The power of patience: teaching students the value of deceleration and immersive attention (Harvard Magazine)The New York Times forum on the future of the humanities (New York Times) Police in Washington DC are monitoring gunfire with acoustic sensors on rooftops (Washington Post)Is there an 'angst canon' of books that teenagers read? (BBC News Magazine)For more about American Studies at UT, subscribe to our newsletter here.