FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — New Orleans has pulled off its first Mardi Gras, post-Katrina, but tough questions remain after the floats are dismantled and the beads put away. Architect, developer and Cornell University professor Milton Curry will discuss the knotty issues of architecture, urbanism and race that New Orleans must address in the first of two lectures co-sponsored by the University of Arkansas African American studies program of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and the department of architecture.

Curry will lecture on rebuilding New Orleans in the wake of Katrina’s devastation.

Titled “Unnatural Violence: Urbanism in the Aftermath of Katrina,” Curry’s lecture will take place at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 7, in Giffels Auditorium.

When asked whether New Orleans should rebuild in low-lying areas, many of them historically African American neighborhoods, Curry replied: “One of the reasons people cling to a historic, nostalgic vision of the city is that we haven’t come up with a compelling alternative. I don’t necessarily want them to be latched on to a physical space that was in many cases substandard. What I am concerned about is the way in which we can develop a more compelling vision of urbanism in the face of human tragedy and multigenerational neglect of select urban conditions.”

A professor at Cornell University’s department of architecture since 1995, Curry also directs the Cornell Council for the Arts and leads a joint design studio and development group. He earned his bachelor of architecture degree from Cornell University and his master of architecture degree from Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

Fassil Demissie heads the Center for Black Diaspora at DePaul University.

Fassil Demissie, a planner and professor in public policy studies at DePaul University, will present a lecture titled “Expanding the Black Atlantic Ties: Rethinking African American and African Studies in the Age of Globalization,” to take place at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, in Giffels Auditorium. Demissie’s research focuses on colonial architecture and urbanism in Africa and the architecture of the African diaspora. The field of African American studies is expanding very rapidly to embrace new approaches, he said recently.

“How do we move forward in light of fundamental changes taking place right now ­— changes brought by rapid communications and rapid movement of people across the world?” Demissie said. “It’s an exciting time for African American and African studies, and I want to share these things with you when I come.”

Demissie earned a master’s degree in architecture and urban planning and a doctoral degree in urban planning from University of California, Los Angeles. He worked as an urban planner in Los Angeles for seven years and has taught at DePaul University since 1990. The University of South Africa Press will publish his book “Colonial Architecture and Urbanism: Intertwined and Contested History” next year.

Darell Fields, a UA associate professor with a joint appointment in architecture and African American studies, organized the lecture series. Fields is working to expand discourse in both disciplines: “Both of these individuals can bring political abstract principles down to the ground and point to tangible examples of architecture and urbanism, New Orleans being the most obvious,” he said.

“We’re excited about the opportunity to examine the African American experience through architecture,” said Charles Robinson, associate professor of history and director of the UA African American studies program. “I think these lectures will give us some fresh perspectives and broaden our approach to social issues.”

In addition to organizing lectures and seminars, Fields will foster black architectural discourse by launching APX, an interdisciplinary journal presenting criticism, scholarship and creative activity. The University of Arkansas Press will distribute the first issue of the annual journal in spring 2007.