Announcement: Salman Rushdie at the Harry Ransom Center, 10/28!

What an event: novelist Salman Rushdie will be at the Harry Ransom Center, delivering the keynote address for the symposium Gabriel García Márquez: His Life and Legacy.Registrants for the symposium have reserved seating, and while all other free tickets have been claimed, there will be a standby line at the Hogg Memorial Auditorium should any seats become available last minute. The event happens on Wednesday, October 28; doors will open at 5:00pm and the talk will begin at 6:00pm.

Announcement: See these talks at the Texas Book Festival

The annual Texas Book Festival is upon us this weekend, so we've curated a list of events that would be of interest to friends of American Studies for your perusal and planning.We'd like to draw your attention especially two events with American Studies participants. The first is a discussion moderated by Dr. Steve Hoelscher: "A Long Walk Home," featuring Magnum photographer Eli Reed. Eli Reed: A Long Walk Home presents the first career retrospective of Reed's work. Consisting of over 250 images that span the full range of his subjects and his evolution as a photographer, the photographs are a visual summation of the human condition. This event will take place at the Contemporary Austin - Jones Center (700 Congress) at 2:00 PM on Saturday.The second is a discussion moderated by Dr. Shirley Thompson: "Negroland." Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and memoirist Margo Jefferson recounts growing up in a small region of African-American upper class families in Chicago during the civil rights movement and the genesis of feminism. With this point of view, Jefferson discusses race, identity, and American culture, through her own lens. This event takes place at the CSPAN-2/BookTV Tent at 12:00 PM on Sunday.Here are some other things to do, too - enjoy!Reagan: The Life (Saturday)10:00 AM - 10:45 AM, C-SPAN2/ Book TV TentIn his newest biography, historian H. W. Brands presents Ronald Reagan as one of the most influential presidents of the twentieth century. Brands traces Reagan’s life from humble beginnings to Hollywood actor to his rise as a politician and president.The History of Franklin's Barbecue (Saturday)10:00 AM - 10:45 AM, Texas TentGet hungry for some barbeque with Aaron Franklin and Jordan Mackay as they talk about their new book, Franklin Barbecue: A Meat-Smoking Manifesto.Jacksonland (Saturday)11:00 AM - 11:45 AM, C-SPAN2/BookTV TentIn his latest work, Jacksonland, NPR host and author Steve Inskeep dives deep into an era of change that spanned the country and shaped the future. The Trail of Tears, the Five Civilized Tribes and the acquisition of Jacksonland are important pieces of American history, all of which have two things in common: Andrew Jackson and John Ross.That Day (Saturday)11:00 AM - 11:45 AM, The Contemporary Austin--Jones Center (700 Congress)Join renowned photographer and Texan Laura Wilson as she discusses what it takes to capture the many facets of the unyielding, ever-changing West in her new book That Day: Pictures in the American West.Talk of the Town (Saturday)11:15 AM - 12:15 PM, The Sanctuary at First United Methodist Church (1201 Lavaca, enter from Lavaca St.)Fans! Join two writers who are fans of each other. Jonathan Lethem and Adrian Tomine as they talk about their new respective collections, Lucky Alan and Killing and Dying, which explore humor, identity, and emotional vulnerability in both realistic and absurd landscapes.The Dystopian Mirror Reflects the Past (Saturday)11:45 AM - 12:45 PM, Capitol Extension Room E2.016Whether the starting place is a reimagining of the Lewis and Clark voyage or a historic Texas War, the future is bleak. Join Benjamin Percy and Zachary Thomas Dodson, two futuristic masterminds, as they unravel the mysteries of the past and the ways in which it predicts our future.The Art of Politics (Saturday)2:00 PM - 2:45 PM, Capitol Extension Room E2.026Join poets Mark Neely and Juliana Spahr as they discuss their latest collections and address tackling current events through poetry. From terrorism to environmental issues, two poets converse about their eloquent, witty works.Place and Race (Saturday)2:00 PM - 2:45 PM, C-SPAN2/BookTV TentAuthors Wendy S. Walters and Jason Sokol discuss the dynamic and complicated course of civil rights over the past several decades in America. Racism emerges in unexpected locations, and the ways in which people resist, cope, and consent are not predictable.Invisible y Sin Fronteras (Saturday)3:00 PM - 3:45 PM, Ahora Si Tent (12th & Colorado)Join Antonio Ruiz-Camacho, Javier Auyero, and Ricardo Ainslie, writers tackling issues of race and place through different genres, as they engage in a wide-ranging discussion of Latino identity in Austin and beyond. (Spanish)Desde distintos géneros, Antonio Ruiz-Camacho, Javier Auyero, y Ricardo Ainslie trabajan temas de raza, etnicidad, e identidad. Los invitamos a sumarse a la conversación sobre varios tópicos relacionados a la identidad Latina en Austin y en el país. (en español)Wimmin's Comix (Saturday)3:15 PM - 4:15 PM, Capitol Auditorium Room E1.004Cartoonists Marisa Acocella Marchetto, Anne Opotowsky, and illustrator Aya Morton discuss the role of women in comics, and the influences on their current works. From the subversive Wimmin’s Comix to Anna Tenna and the Walled City Trilogy, the graphic novel genre proves to be inclusive and provocative.The Wind in the Reeds with Wendell Pierce (Saturday)4:00 PM - 4:45 PM, House ChamberWith moving recollections of his family, childhood, and artistic journey, Wendell Pierce (The Wire, Treme) relates the story of his mission to rebuild his beloved New Orleans neighborhood after Hurricane Katrina in The Wind in the Reeds: A Storm, A Play, and the City That Would Not Be Broken.A Portrait of a Critic as a Young Man (Saturday)4:00 PM - 4:45 PM, Capitol Extension Room E2.010Join the "Dean of American Rock Critics" Robert Christgau as he dives headfirst into the inspiration behind his new book, a memoir which is equal parts love story and tribute to New York and the metamorphic power of art.Invisible in Austin (Sunday)11:00 AM - 11:45 AM, Texas TentJoin editor Javier Auyero and some of his collaborating graduate students, Katherine Jensen and Caitlyn Collins, in discussion about Invisible in Austin, an essential study of the growing gap between wealth and poverty in a dynamic and overall thriving city.Getting Real (Sunday)11:00 AM - 11:45 AM, Capitol Extension Room E2.014Saeed Jones and James Hannaham bring the crucial Black Lives Matter conversation to the forefront. Join Texas-native Jones and Bronx-born Hannaham in a cross-genre panel as they discuss how race and racism has influenced their respective texts and their poignantly unique perspectives.Standing Out, Blending In (Sunday)12:15 PM - 1:00 PM, Capitol Extension Room E2.026Join Allyson Hobbs and James McGrath Morris as they share their investigations into the tumultuous history of racial identity in the U.S. in their respective works, A Chosen Exile: A History of Racial Passing in American Life and Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Payne, the First Lady of the Black Press.Grant Park (Sunday)2:00 PM - 2:45 PM, House ChamberPulitzer Prize-winning journalist Leonard Pitts’ latest novel alternates between 1968, the year of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination, and Chicago during the election of 2008. Grant Park showcases his talent for addressing racial tensions that are just as relevant today as they were during the Civil Rights era.Her Texas (Sunday)4:00 PM - 4:45 PM, Capitol Extension Room E1.026Multicultural, multiethnic, and multidisciplinary, Her Texas includes stories, essays, memoirs, poetry, song lyrics, paintings, and photographs by 60 Texas women. Some of the contributors are here today to talk about her own Texas.

Announcement: MALS department and SSW hosts Luis Zayas and Kane Smego

You're in for a treat this afternoon, everyone: the MALS department and School of Social Work will be hosting School of Social Work Dean Luis Zayas and hip hop/spoken word artist Kane Smego for a conversation about immigration, social justice, marginalized communities, and art from 4:00 - 6:00pm today (Thursday, September 24) in the Santa Rita Suite in the Union (UNB 3.502).But wait, there's more: our own Dr. Nicole Guidotti-Hernández will discuss Zayas's new book, Forgotten Citizens, the most complete picture yet of how immigration policy subverts children's rights, harms their mental health, and leaves lasting psychological traumas.For more information, see COLA's event listing and the poster above.

Announcement: "Como La Danceflor," Artist Talk/Music Set/Interview with AB Soto

We're excited to share with you the first of a few events within a series called "MIGHTY REAL The Politics of Queer Nightlife." AB Soto, a visual/performance artist and musician, will be sharing and discussing his work on Thursday, September 17 in the Ransom Center's Prothro Theater, from 1:30pm - 3:15pm.A brief word about Soto:

Born in East Los Angeles AB’s work as a visual / performance artist and musician is an amalgamation of his Latin roots and early influences; street and pop culture. This combined with a rebellious streak that challenges and questions mainstream gay culture and norms is what defines AB as a recording artist. AB’s early background as a professional dancer and fashion designer informs his work as the artist he is today - all of AB’s work is original and self produced; choreography, lyric, styling and design. AB’s art is a stylized commentary on homophobic attitudes present in the dominate culture. His aim is to show the diversity of the more marginalized members of the gay community and bring them to a wider audience.

And a brief word about the MIGHTY REAL  series:

This artist/speaker series, open to the university and Austin communities, will invite musicians, entertainers, DJ, and organizers working in queer nightlife spaces to offer their perspectives on politics, performance, and labor. Prior to the infamous Stonewall Riots of 1969, bars, house parties, and nightclubs have been essential sites of community making and political action for gender and sexual dissidents. While these spaces are imagined as utopians and escapist, nightlife has long been the target of state surveillance and moral legislation. Additionally, recent scholarships have demonstrated how people of color, working class people, and gender non-conforming people are kept at the margins of entertainment cultures. It is imperative, in a climate of state-sanctioned racial surveillance, border patrols, and trans phobic attacks, to more critically politicize queer nightlife, an industry that is assumed to offer refuge from the psychic and physical violence of heteronormativity and racism. This series will offer perspectives from those working on the ground, and will provide a nuanced understanding of nightlife as a space of political action.