Gender Studies Director Selected as Inaugural 21st Century Democracy Fellow

University of Arkansas

In an effort to embrace democratic engagement and civic education through arts education and community engagement, INTERFORM has named Lisa Corrigan, director of the gender studies program and professor of communication, its inaugural 21st Century Democracy Fellow.

CEO Robin Wallis Atkinson said, "INTERFORM is so excited about this fellowship, and as an organization dedicated to equity and inclusion, we believe we have a unique opportunity to communicate the importance of civic engagement to folks who might not yet be a part of the conversation. Arts organizations and artists lead the avant garde conversations that need to become important to society. We think democratic engagement can and should be viewed through a creative and progressive lens."

As the inaugural 21st Century Democracy Fellow, professor Corrigan will offer a series of lectures, workshops and community interventions in a project she calls "The New Civics."

Corrigan explains, "'The New Civics' is designed to offer inspiration and instruction in four arenas: inclusive democracy-building, politics and political engagement, community organizing and media literacy. The goal is to help fill in gaps with and for organizations and communities in Northwest Arkansas that feel like their political literacy needs to be sharpened to include assessments of: democratic decision-making and institution-building, equitable resource distribution, mutual aid and traditional political advocacy. I'm so grateful to INTERFORM for this opportunity and for their tremendous leadership in the regions on equity and justice issues in the Northwest Arkansas arts community."

Having spent two decades working in political communication, policy-making and community engagement, Corrigan sees this fellowship as "an opportunity to grow her collaborations with arts institutions in the region and across the state to expand their footprint in democratic-institution building and civic engagement."

Professor Corrigan is the award-winning author of Prison Power: How Prison Politics Influenced the Movement for Black Liberation (University Press of Mississippi, 2016), which received the National Communication Association's 2017 Diamond Anniversary Book Award and 2017 African American Communication and Culture Division's Outstanding Book Award, and Black Feelings: Race and Affect in the Long Sixties (University Press of Mississippi, 2020), which received the 2021 Honorable Mention for the Marie Hochmuth Nichols prize in Outstanding Public Address Scholarship. Additionally, Corrigan is the editor of #MeToo: A Rhetorical Zeitgeist (Routledge, 2022). Most recently, she was a 2021-2022 Residential Research Fellow at the Hall Center for the Humanities at the University of Kansas.

About INTERFORM: INTERFORM is a 501c3 non-profit organization at the forefront of creative growth and change in our community. We envision a self-sustaining design-led fashion and art industry in Northwest Arkansas, and we build robust programs to directly support that vision. We foster greater levels of creativity and provide the right education and resources needed to grow our designers and artists. We uplift and center the creative works of those who are underrepresented and use our platform to encourage others to do the same. We are here to propel creatives forward and aid in their professional journey.

About the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences: The Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is the largest and most academically diverse unit on campus, with three schools, 16 faculties, and 43 academic programs and research centers. The college provides most of the core curriculum for all University of Arkansas undergraduate students.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines.