Events Archives - Page 25 of 38

Kalamazoo College Commencement is June 12 at 1 p.m.

Posted on May 9, 2016March 23, 2022

Kalamazoo College’s 2016 Commencement takes place Sunday June 12 at 1:00 p.m. on the campus Quad. Speakers include international human rights lawyer, activist and scholar Gay McDougall, Award-winning author Bonnie Jo Campbell, and graduating K senior Mindze Mbala-Nkanga.

Approximately 300 members of the K class of 2016 will receive Bachelor of Arts degrees.

K President Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran will welcome the graduates – along with approximately 2,500 family members and friends, K faculty, staff, trustees, alumni and community members – in what will be her final commencement as K president. She retires from her post on June 30 after 11 years.

Gay McDougall will be the 2016 commencement keynote speaker. She is Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence, Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham Law School, Fordham University, New York City. Her long and noteworthy career has been dedicated to fighting racial oppression both in the United States and abroad. She is former United Nations Independent Expert on Minority Issues, former Executive Director of Global Rights at Partners for Justice, and former Director of the Southern Africa Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

In 1999, McDougall was a recipient of the coveted MacArthur “Genius” Award. She has also received the Butcher Medal of the American Society of International Law for outstanding contributions to human rights law and the Thurgood Marshall Award of the District of Columbia Bar Association among numerous other national and international awards.

McDougall received a J.D. degree from Yale Law School and an LL.M. degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She has Honorary Doctors of Law degrees from Georgetown University Law Center, the School of Law of the City University of New York, and Agnes Scott College.

McDougall will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from K during commencement.

Bonnie Jo Campbell will also speak at commencement. Campbell is the author of Once Upon a River, Women and Other Animals, Q Road, the just-released Mothers, Tell Your Daughters, and the National Book Award nominated American Salvage. In 2012, Once Upon a River was the Summer Common Reading book for the incoming class of 2016. Campbell spent two days on campus meeting with class members as part of their new student orientation program. Per K tradition, she returns to address this same class of students at their commencement.

Campbell is a Michigan native and resident of Kalamazoo who has served as a visiting professor of English at K. She received her B.A. degree from University of Chicago and both a M.A. degree in mathematics and M.F.A. degree in writing from Western Michigan University, in Kalamazoo.

During Commencement, Bonnie Jo Campbell will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from K.

2015-2016 President’’s Student Ambassadors, Kalamazoo College, Erin Butler ’18; Francisco “Franky” Cabrera ’16; Bianca Delgado ’17; Alexis Fiebernitz ’16; George Fishback ’17; Immanuel “Manny” Greene ’16; Madeline “Maddie” Hume ’16; Elyse Kaplan ’18; Mindze Mbala-Nkanga ’16; Nirmita “Mira” Palakodaty ’18; Brian Raetz ’16 — Mindze Mbala-Nkanga ’16

Graduating K senior Mindze Mbala-Nkanga will be this year’s student graduation day speaker. Mbala-Nkanga is from Ypsilanti, Mich., and will receive a B.A. degree in biology. Her Senior Independent Project (a K graduation requirement) was “Mother Anopheles: Of Malaria and Other Infections,” a play in two acts, for which she received honors. During her four years at K she completed an internship at Monroe Carell Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University and second at a hospital in Libreville, Gabon. She also served as president of the student organization Kalama-Africa, member of the Student of Color Coalition, and President’s Student Ambassador.

Graduating K seniors Sarah Wallace, Dylan Polcyn and Kaeli Peach will speak at Baccalaureate on Saturday June 11, at 8:00 p.m., in Stetson Chapel. K Baccalaureate is a nondenominational service with student and faculty speakers and musical performances.

17th Century Reality TV

Posted on May 5, 2016March 23, 2022

The cast of the Festival Playhouse production of Molière’s LEARNED LADIES includes Belinda McCauley ’16 (Bélise), Kellie Dugan ’17 (Armande), Madison Donoho ’17 (Philaminte), and Kate Kreiss ’19 (Henriette). Photo by Emily Salswedel ’16

Festival Playhouse of Kalamazoo College wraps up its 52nd season with Molière’s comedy, The Learned Ladies, in the Nelda K. Balch Playhouse, Thursday through Sunday, May 12-15.

The play, first produced in 1672, has been perceived as Moliere’s criticism of educated women. However, Director Marissa Harrington believes “his mockery [targets] the excess in which the women of this play indulge. We must always seek balance.”

“Though the play encourages female empowerment,” explains Dramaturg Lauren Landman ’18, “it also emphasizes the chaos that occurs when indulgence becomes immodesty–not unlike popular television shows such as Keeping Up with the Kardashians and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”

“To illustrate this parallel, Festival Playhouse’s production will transform audience members into avid fans of reality television, offering a behind-the-lens perspective that will question what exactly it means to be ‘learned’.”

With today’s reality television shows becoming increasingly popular, Harrington poses a question to the audience: “Do we demand enough truth from ourselves and each other?”

The play opens Thursday, May 12, at 7:30pm. Additional evening performances occur Friday and Saturday, May 13 and 14, at 8p.m., and a matinee concludes the run on Sunday, May 15, at 2pm. Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for seniors citizens, and $15 for other adults. For reservations call 269.337.7333 or visit the FP website.

The performance features Elaine Kauffman, costume designer; Lanford J. Potts, scenic and lighting designer; and Val Frank ’17, sound designer. This production of The Learned Ladies has been translated into English verse by Richard Wilbur.

Intercultural Conference and Hip Hop Collective

Posted on April 22, 2016March 23, 2022

Kalamazoo College’s Intercultural Student Life group presents the “Intercultural Conference and Hip Hop Collective,” a two-day event on April 29 and 30 featuring guest speakers, the Black History 101 Mobile Museum, panels, discussions and a performance featuring five Hip Hop artists. The event’s venues include the Hicks Banquet Hall and Hicks Center.

Among the event’s goals are building relationships and learning about the intercultural ethos of K. “My student advisory board and I decided to focus our first event on Hip Hop because Hip Hop has a way to cross over cultural boundaries and speak to multiple groups,” said Natalia Carvalho-Pinto, director for intercultural student life.

The museum exhibit is open both days of the conference and is a powerful experience. “Khalid El-Hakim, the museum’s curator, travels with about 1,000 exhibit pieces,” says Carvalho-Pinto, “ranging from the slavery era through Jim Crow and the Civil Rights movement up to Hip Hop and the modern era.” El-Hakim will deliver the keynote address Saturday, talking about the museum and the importance on continuity in social justice work.

The Conference also features Ernie Pannicioli, a photographer who has documented Hip Hop from its birth through modern days and photographed every celebrity in Hip Hop,” according to Carvalho-Pinto. She adds, “He published a book titled Who Shot Ya, and he speaks about ’the other side of Hip Hop,’ the movement building and struggles that few discuss.” Carvalho-Pinto also is excited about the presence of OLMECA at the conference. “He is a very unique artist,” she says, “and his keynote address will focus on his experiences in the Zapatista movement and Hip Hop in Latin America.”

A Hip Hop panel occurs Saturday afternoon with Miz Korona, Mu, Supa Emcee and Kenny Muhammed THE HUMAN ORCHESTRA. Five Hip Hop artists will perform Saturday night for the “Zoo After Dark” activity.

“Our speakers, panelists and performers are really great people,” says Carvalho-Pinto. I would love to see as many students, staff and faculty as possible attend some or all the conference. My hope is that the event opens more opportunities for dialogue and serves as a place of empowerment for our students of color on campus.”

Participants Announced, Applications Open for 2016 With/Out ¿Borders? Conference at Kalamazoo College

Posted on April 20, 2016April 10, 2023

Naomi Klein [photo credit Kourosh Keshiri]

Kalamazoo College’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (ACSJL) is accepting applications to attend the 2016 WITH/OUT ¿BORDERS? Conference scheduled for Oct. 20-23 on the K campus in Kalamazoo, Mich. Journalist and author Naomi Klein will be among a panel of distinguished conference participants. She will deliver the keynote address on the evening of Oct. 21.

“This conference aims to confront and provoke the notion that the current nadir of austerity, violence and ascent of the global one-percent is normal and the best we humans can do,” said Brock. “We intend to bring together people whose work envisions an imaginative, robust, plentiful and just future.”

According to Brock, confirmed conference participants thus far include:

– Political scientist Simon Akindes;
– Actor, singer, writer and composer Daniel Beatty;
– Author and political scientist Peter Bratsis;
– Science fiction writer, social justice activist and performer Adrienne Brown;
– Educator Prudence Browne;
– Food justice activist Dara Cooper;
– Divestment activist Sean Estelle;
– Indigenous historian Nick Estes;
– Author and racial justice and labor activist Bill Fletcher, Jr.;
– Afro-Jewish philosopher, educator and musician Lewis Gordon;
– American studies scholar and anti-racist social movements historian Christina Heatherton;
– Educator Alice Kim;
– Journalist, columnist and author Naomi Klein;
– New Orleans poet, singer and activist Sunni Patterson; and
– Ethnomusicologist Stephanie Shonekan.

Topics of discussion will include Afrofuturism and post-oppression desires, decolonizing knowledge and liberatory education, sustainable futures, and next systems and new economic possibilities.

Brock said this will be a “conference/unconference” featuring modules that will include panel discussions, breakout sessions, and performances “designed to prompt us to collectively conjure, theorize, decolonize, and map a future we can all thrive in.”

Conference modules will take place at the ACSJL (205 Monroe Street) and other venues on the K campus.

The Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (www.kzoo.edu/arcuscenter) is an initiative of Kalamazoo College. Its mission is to develop and sustain leaders in human rights and social justice through education and capacity-building. We envision a campus and world where: every person’s life is equally valued, the inherent dignity of all people is recognized, the opportunity to develop one’s full potential is available to every person, and systematic discrimination and structural inequities have been eradicated.

Kalamazoo College, founded in Kalamazoo, Mich., in 1833, is a nationally recognized liberal arts and sciences college and the creator of the K-Plan that emphasizes rigorous scholarship, experiential learning, leadership development, and international and intercultural engagement. Kalamazoo
College does more in four years so students can do more in a lifetime.

African Languages as Literary Medium

Posted on April 18, 2016March 23, 2022

Kalamazoo College’s African studies program invites everyone to the public lecture, “African Languages as Literary Medium: Prospects and Challenges.” Dr. Abdou Ngom (Cheik Anta Diop University, Senegal) will deliver the address on Wednesday, May 11, at 4:30 p.m. in the Mandelle Hall Olmsted Room. The event is free and open to the public.

“The lecture addresses the distribution of indigenous languages in Africa, the negative impact of colonization on the promotion of indigenous languages, and the difficult choice made by governments regarding their official languages,” said Ngom. Ngom will discuss the controversial issue of the literary medium for African writers, especially the relationships between language and cultural identity. “The matter of authenticity and language (indigenous or non-indigenous) involves very difficult and interesting questions,” he said. For example, is literature written in European languages authentic African literature? Should any literature written by an African scholar be considered African literature? What type of readership do African writers have in mind when writing literature and why? What are the main challenges posed by African literature written in indigenous languages? How does literature written in foreign languages affect African indigenous languages? “The lecture,” said Joseph Bangura, associate professor of history and director of the African studies program, “seeks to address these questions.”

Disabling Life’s Challenges: A Paradigm Shift

Posted on April 18, 2016March 23, 2022

Sean Bogue ’18, Emma Franzel ’17, and Kyle Lampar ’17 in a scene from IMMOBILE by Brittany Worthington ’13. Photo by Emily Salswedel ’16.

Festival Playhouse of Kalamazoo College presents the world premiere of Immobile, a play by alumna Brittany Worthington ’13, on April 28 through May 1. The play is directed by senior Maddie Grau ’16 as part of Festival Playhouse’s annual Senior Performance Series

Immobile is a story of relationships and self. Megan’s husband Alexander (Kyle Lampar ’17) is a quadriplegic as a result of an auto accident. Though he loves Megan (Emma Franzel ’17), who is also his primary caregiver, Alexander encourages her to start a new chapter—-with a new man, Caleb (Sean Bogue ’18)—-thereby challenging each character to reexamine what being mobile—-both physically and emotionally—-really means.

“These three characters are on the path of realizing their able-bodied privilege, and the loss of that privilege,” says Grau. “Megan struggles to find happiness once Alexander asks her to prioritize herself in a world that tells her to put him first. The unconventional relationships that develop in the wake of his decision are unchartered territory that Worthington explores through moments of unforgiving humor and emotional uncertainty.”

Worthington originally wrote Immobile for a playwriting class in her senior year. It was chosen for a showcase reading in the Student Playwrights Staged Reading Series at Kalamazoo College in 2014, and then featured in the Theatre Kalamazoo New Play Festival that same year. This month’s show is the first completely staged full production.

Says Worthington of her play, “I wanted to explore this idea of ‘selflessness,’ of putting others before yourself. What I found while writing Immobile is that every relationship in life forces us to make sacrifices but also provides unique gains. How do we reconcile those relationships that come into conflict with each other? If you’re a different person depending on the relationship you’re in, is one identity more authentic than another? In order to have a full sense of self, must we in fact be ‘selfless,’ and give up something we love or should we strive to ‘have it all,’ despite the pain it may cause others?”

The play opens in The Dungeon Theatre (139 Thompson Street) on Thursday, April 28, at 7:30 p.m.; continues Friday and Saturday, April 29 and 30, at 8 p.m.; and concludes with a final performance on Sunday, May 1, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5. All students, faculty/staff members of Kalamazoo College are invited to attend the performance at no charge. Tickets may also be purchased at the door one hour prior to performance. To make reservations, please call 269.337.7333. For more information, please visit the Festival Playhouse website.

Street Improvements Meeting

Posted on April 14, 2016March 23, 2022

Street changes are coming to areas close to campus, and you have a chance to express questions and concerns. The public is invited to participate in a public open house to help determine future improvements within the downtown Kalamazoo Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) study area. The open house occurs from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20, at the Metro Transit Center (530 N. Rose Street).

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will be using the PEL process to determine future improvements within the downtown Kalamazoo study area: Stadium Drive between Howard Street and Michigan Avenue; Michigan Avenue between Stadium Drive and Kalamazoo Avenue; Kalamazoo Avenue between Douglas Avenue and Harrison Street; Michikal Street between Michigan Avenue and Kalamazoo Avenue; Riverview Drive between Harrison Street and Gull Road; and Douglas Avenue between West Main Street and Kalamazoo Avenue.

The PEL process is a planning tool used to streamline the project development process. It is an approach to transportation decision-making that helps the community consider environmental, historical, cultural, and feasibility issues early in the transportation planning process.

Residents and business owners are encouraged to attend and share ideas, suggestions and concerns as part of the planning process.

War Crimes Trial Anniversary Occasion for Human Rights Workshop

Posted on April 11, 2016March 23, 2022

A workshop on human rights (April 14-16) at Kalamazoo College will offer the opportunity for some of the world’s leading scholars to discuss their work among themselves and an audience that includes students, faculty and the general public. The workshop is titled “Seventy Years After Nuremberg: Genocide and Human Rights in Comparative Perspective.”

“Seventy years after the end of the Second World War and the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials of 1945-46 is a particularly appropriate time to reflect on genocide and responses to genocide in the 20th and 21st centuries,” said workshop organizer David Barclay, the Margaret and Roger Scholten Professor of International Studies. “Although the study of genocide, the Holocaust, international human right and related issues has become an essential component of academic scholarship and civic education, the current anniversary of the first war-crimes trials after World War II offers important opportunities to reflect comparatively, and in a focused way, on these vital matters.”

The workshop begins on Thursday evening, April 14, with a keynote address by Daniel Chirot (University of Washington) titled “No End in Sight: Why Mass Political Murder Continues to Occur.” Friday morning’s session focuses on genocide prior to the Second World War (and before the invention of the word), locating the phenomenon of genocide in the larger context of global history from the 19th to the 21st centuries. The session includes new scholarship concerning the Armenian genocide and new work detailing colonialism and genocide in Africa. Friday afternoon features two sessions on recent discussions of the Holocaust.

The workshop will conclude on Saturday morning with a consideration of other examples of 20th-century genocide, responses to genocide, and genocide and the protection of international human rights. Public participation and discussion will be encouraged. The event occurs in the Mandelle Hall Olmsted Room and is free to the public. In addition to Chirot and Barclay, among the other scholars featured are Joseph Bangura, Kalamazoo College; Carter Dougherty ’92, Bloomberg News; John Dugas, Kalamazoo College; Hilary Earl, Nipissing University, Canada; Amy Elman, Kalamazoo College; Geoffrey J. Giles, University of Florida; Lesley Klaff Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom; Paul Gordon Lauren, University of Montana; Wendy Lower, Claremont McKenna College; Samuel Moyn, Harvard Law School; James Nafziger, Willamette University and American Society of Comparative Law; Raffael Scheck, Colby College; and Ronald Suny, University of Michigan.
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Nights (and Days) in the Museums

Posted on April 8, 2016March 23, 2022

Join an evening of “Exploring Museum Careers with Kalamazoo College Alumni” on Thursday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m. in Dewing Hall Room 103. The discussion and Q&A comes from the inspiration of Professor Emerita of Art History Billie Fischer and Visiting Instructor of Art History Melanie Sympson. Sympson is teaching the spring term course “The Modern Art Museum,” and she has enlisted the three alumni panelists to visit her class in addition to sharing their stories with the general public. The alumni participants are John Cummins Steele ’83, Holly (Rarick) Witchey ’83, and Courtney Tompkins ’08. Each will speak about 10 minutes, sharing their from-there-to-here stories (where “there” is K and “here” is working in museums) and then take questions from the audience. The evening will be a true liberal arts fest, says Sympson, for museums are situated at the intersection of many disciplines. Steele is the director of conservation and conservator of sculpture and decorative arts at the Detroit Institute of Arts. He supervises conservation department staff in the examination, documentation, analysis, scientific research, conservation treatment, preservation, exhibition and interpretation of the DIA’s permanent collection. He earned his M.A. and certificate of advanced studies at Buffalo State College. At K he majored in history and earned a concentration in art history. He studied abroad in Erlangen, Germany.

Witchey is director of the Wade Project at the Western Reserve Historical Society. The Wade Project is a multi-year collaborative effort to create a model for studying individual family histories. She also teaches museum work related courses for Johns Hopkins University. Witchey earned her Ph.D. at Case Western Reserve University. At K she majored in political science and art history. She studied abroad in Muenster, Germany.

Tompkins is assistant to the program of research, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. CASVA is a research institute that fosters study of the production, use, and cultural meaning of art, artifacts, architecture, urbanism, photography, and film worldwide from prehistoric times to the present. Tompkins earned her M.A. at American University. At K she majored in art history, and she studied abroad in Rome, Italy.

Better than a “Night at the Museum” is an evening exploring museum careers with these three distinguished alums. The event is free and open to the public.

Behind Closed Doors

Posted on March 31, 2016March 23, 2022

I want to talk about being uncomfortable—or, rather, being comfortable with what is uncomfortable—in order to learn and progress as an individual in a progressive society. Maybe this means I want to talk about art, or education, or both.

How important is disquiet to learning? How comfortable must I become with discomfort in order to progress as an educated citizen? I have been thinking about these questions a great deal lately, based on my experience with the recent art exhibit at K, “Behind Closed Doors.” The exhibit was sponsored by Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (ACSJL) and appeared in various locations around campus during winter term (Dow Science Center, Mandelle Hall, Anderson Athletic Center, Dalton Theatre, ACSJL, Hicks Center, among others)
The exhibit featured a comment box open to anyone—faculty, staff and students of K as well as members of the general community. The exhibit’s purpose was to get people to have a conversation that they might not normally have about segregation and racism in our country.

Artist and Kalamazoo native J.D. Brink took two old doors, scarred them with bullet holes and shattered their windows. Perhaps the most violent stroke employed by the artist was affixing two original signs, one on each door: “Whites Only” and “Colored Only: No Whites Allowed”. The art exhibit was first displayed in Balch Playhouse on the opening night of The Mountaintop, a dramatic depiction of the Reverend Martin Luther King’s last night alive, set in Room 306 of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on the eve of his assassination on April 4,1968.

The comment box offered people the chance to engage with Brink’s artwork and become part of a silent conversation with the campus community. A forum was held on February 26 in the social justice center to converse about the significance of the exhibit. Arcus Center Fellows Kiavanni Williams ‘18 and Erin Butler ‘18 revealed the comments from the box for reflection and discussion.

Unfortunately the event was poorly attended. I shared the nearly empty room with Kiavanni and Erin. The comments were neatly taped to the backs of smooth wooden doors like paintings in a gallery. The three of us read each comment to ourselves. Some comments provided personal anecdotes of racism experienced in the U.S., others questioned the purpose of the exhibit and seemed to resent the discomfort it inspired. Some were hauntingly irreverent about racism in the present day, and too many showed a troubling ignorance of the history of Black people in America (a group that includes persons of various backgrounds: African-American, Afro-Caribbean, Caribbean, Afro-Latino, African, and a number of mixed raced individuals). Twenty-six people commented, all anonymously, and, sadly, the comments ranged from overt racism to a disturbing obliviousness to the issue of racial discrimination in America as a present day issue.

I was most struck by what each comment shared: a sense of deep and brooding discomfort. It is indeed jarring to see, in 2016, a “Whites Only” and “Coloreds Only” sign, and several commenters wanted the exhibit removed. As a Black woman I have made a habit out of ignoring stares and holding my tongue when I hear people appropriate aspects of my culture for pleasure. I have felt the stiffness of a classroom where I am one of just a few Black students. I have endured jokes that stab instead of tickle. My freshman year I felt #unsafeatK and that sensation still lingers. My African-American peers as well as other students of color on this campus have also experienced the discomfort that those dilapidated doors with Jim Crow signs seemed to inspire in every building they stood.

To me, those doors are too familiar; I’d seen them before in the eyes of some who judged me entirely by my skin, in the eyes of politicians and teachers throughout my life. The duration of that discomfort has no doubt made a callus over once vulnerable parts of myself and my soul. But it has also made me aware, made me tolerant to the wiles of ignorance, and made me strong. It is through discomfort that we can truly discover the purest elements of our humanity. Hopefully struggle and education will guide us to a greater understanding of what needs to occur for all to live in peace.

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