Fearless Conversations: Memorials, Monuments and Symbolic Protests

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The J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences invites faculty, staff, students and community members to participate in its new series: Fearless Conversations. The series promotes dialogue about the most pressing and salient issues of our time in an effort to achieve meaningful public discourse in an increasingly divisive culture.

The first event in the series, Fearless Conversations: Memorials, Monuments and Symbolic Protests, will take place Wednesday, Nov. 8 from 5 to 7 p.m. in Giffels Auditorium, 201 Old Main. It is free and open to the public.

Memorials, Monuments and Symbolic Protests engages with recent public debates about monuments and memorials and the historical narratives they affirm. Likewise, panelists will critically examine protest movements and the symbolic gestures and rhetoric they employ. Active audience participation is encouraged.

There will be ample time for dialogue between panelists and the audience. The goal of the event is to facilitate civil discourse around complex and controversial topics in a safe and supportive environment.

Panelists include:

• Lisa Corrigan, director of the Gender Studies Program and associate professor in the Department of Communication
• Jennifer Hoyer, director of the Jewish Studies Program and associate professor of German in the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures
• Sean Teuton, director of the Indigenous Studies Program and associate professor of Native American Literature in the Department of English
• Calvin White, Jr., chair of the Department of History and associate professor of African American history

Ram Natarajan, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology will moderate the discussion.

For more information, contact Elecia Smith at ecs002@uark.edu or Kathryn Sloan at ksloan@uark.edu.