Mellon Crew!!
OK, so I have been meaning to send this update for at least a month now, but I
do not have a ton of free time and...well...yeah. I am sending it now and that
is what counts.
I am not going to take up all of your time (and precious email space--I know
how it goes). But I wanted to let you all know that I miss you! I know it makes
me a dork, but sometimes I do read the emails and announcements and get jealous
(especially for the theatre outings). I hope you all have had a good summer!
That was the real point of this email. But, if your interested (I won't be
offended if you're not), here is a brief update from Paris:
The class is going really well. For those of you who have no idea what I have
been doing out here, basically we have studied intersecting stories, histories,
frameworks people from the black diaspora that live or work in Paris. The class
is so extremely interdisciplinary that I hesitate categorizing it. Everyday I
have class from 9am to noon. Then in the afternoon we have visits or panels
with writers, artists, scholars, etc from the black diaspora. We have met
SERIOUS players in the game: The lead choreographer of a smash French musical
about Josephine Baker, the ambassador from the Republic of Congo, award-winning
poets and novelists, and (my personal favorite) best selling hip hop artists.
The mix of theory and practice has been wonderful. We are reading about a book
a week, and with the extra activities, I leave my apartment at 8 in the morning
and often do not return until 7 at night.
The best part is the other people on the program. The class conversation is
excellent and often we keep talking well after class and into the late night
(which makes me miss conversations with all of you).
My independent study project is surrounding questions of legal, as well as
cultural, citizenship of African Americans in America (as well as how they are
seen transnationally in those contexts) and the politics of exile. A lot of it
was formed from our conversations with Sekou over a year ago (lol, for those of
you who were still around back then, can you believe it has been that long?)
and my own experiences abroad over the past year.
But I am also not spending every moment behind a book. In the Paris Noir
program we keep a motto of: Work Hard, Play Hard. And I am sticking to it. LOL.
If you want details, let me know. Paris is sooo beautiful.
There have been challenges and lots to reflect on (I will share when I get back
to MN), but in general I am glad I did one more study abroad program before
starting senior year. It?s been an important capstone experience and, in a lot
of ways, has put a lot in perspective.
I will see you all for the last Mellon Seminar!
Much love,
Carmen
PS: Kara Walker?s last show (My Compliment, My Enemy, My Opressor, My
Love--from the AMST Conference last year) is currently in Paris. I went to see
it last Sunday. Kara?s work is still a lot to digest, even in a French context.
But the experience made me think of all of you...
--- Begin Message ---
Fellows and Fellow Travelers:
Reminder -- special meeting of seminar this Wednesday, July 11, with
students of the University of Minnesota's Mellon program. Professor
Rachel Schurman (Sociology, University of Minnesota) and I will be
leading a discussion of "Resistance and Social Movements." Readings are
my article, "Neoliberalism: Context for a New Workers' Struggle;"
Professor Schurman's "Forging a Global Anti-Biotech Movement;" and
Patrick Bond, "Volatile Capitalism and Global Poverty." I have emailed
you a set of questions to consider in preparation for class discussion.
Emphasis on DISCUSSION. We will meet at 9:30am in the Old Main parking
lot. We need one car in addition to mine (Amber? Adam? - please let me
know). We will return to campus by 12:30pm.
On Thursday evening, July 12, there are two events which ought to
interest you, both of them free. I am not available to take you, but ...
1) "Color Theory for the 21st Century: Beyond the Pure" -- Jae Ran Kim,
Korean adoptee, poet and essayist, and Bobby Wilson, Native American
spoken word artist and poet. Patrick's Cabaret, 3010 Minnehaha Avenue,
Mpls (right off Lake Street -- 21A bus)
2) "Teen Poetry Slam: Quest for the Voice 2007" -- curated by Sha Cage,
local teen poets -- Walker Art Center, 7pm
Try to go to one of these... I have group events planned for next W
night, July 18 (staged reading of Carlyle Brown's in-process play about
Langston Hughes and the McCarthy hearings), and Th night, July 19
(puppet performances by NYC-based Great Small Works company, the most
innovative puppetry artists at work in the US today). Please keep those
nights free.
See you W morning!
Love and Solidarity,
Peter
_______________________________________________
Mellon Myers Undegraduate Fellowship Program at Macalester (http://macmmuf.org)
[email protected]
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html
http://macmmuf.org/mailman/listinfo/list_macmmuf.org
--- End Message ---
_______________________________________________
Mellon Myers Undegraduate Fellowship Program at Macalester (http://macmmuf.org)
[email protected]
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html
http://macmmuf.org/mailman/listinfo/list_macmmuf.org
