Expert to share ‘ground-breaking’ diaspora research

For 40 years, the department of African American and African Diaspora Studies has tried to educate the IU community about the experiences of black people in different parts of the world. This weekend, in conjunction with a year-long 40th anniversary celebration, the department will sponsor the seventh annual Herman C. Hudson Symposium at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center.

Graduate students in the department organized the celebration that will feature several events, including an art exhibit,  anniversary panel, a dance concert and a lecture given by keynote speaker Cynthia Shepard Perry.

Chairperson of the department Valerie Grim, who gave graduate students insight on how to organize the celebration, said the theme for the event, “Bodies, Borders and Resistance,” deals with a wide variety of issues.

“I think the idea behind the theme is to look at sort of ways in which to look at people’s experiences,” Grim said. “The whole notion is to think about ways which you can draw from different communities into conversation, a diverse group of organizers, students and specific engagements.”

Grim said this year’s celebration is unique because it will touch on the history and evolution of the department. She said the students chose Perry as a keynote speaker because she has worked with social injustice issues.

Perry served as U.S. ambassador to Sierra Leon during the Ronald Reagan administration and also worked in other areas in Africa. Graduate student Caralee Jones, the 2010 Herman C. Hudson symposium president, said Perry’s experience will fascinate students.

“I do think Dr. Perry has a lot of unique things she will be addressing through implications of human trafficking in the human Diaspora, and I think this would be of interest to a lot of students,” Jones said.

Fellow graduate student Rafi Hasan said the focus of the event isn’t just about bringing faculty and students together.

“It’s about representing some of the best intellectual discourse related to the African Diaspora but also some of the most ground-breaking research in the area,” Hasan said.

He said Perry melds more with this year’s theme than anybody else.

“Her work in nations continues to be on the national radar, specifically in Africa, in terms of her approach toward internationalism, understanding different cultures to begin with, but also what we know and understand,” Hasan said. 

Grim said the symposium is also a good opportunity for the department to get exposure and to educate different people about its studies.

“It’s a department committed to understanding the experiences of black people in the world, both African-Americans and citizens of the United States in the American community,” she said. “I think it’s important for people to have an understanding that there has been tremendous achievement and contributions by the department.”