Media Alerts

WHAT:

The WORLDWISE: Arts and Humanities Dean’s Lecture Series features a discussion between Angélique Kidjo and Sheri Parks, associate dean in the College of Arts and Humanities, in which Kidjo will talk about her life story, including her reasons for escaping Benin’s former leftist regime to pursue her dream of becoming an artist in Paris. She will also talk about what it means to be the “queen of African music” and her fervent activism around women and girls in Africa.

The discussion will also explore the idea of cultural rights in the lives of refugees, taking into account the United Nations’ recognition of culture as a human right.

Prior to the lecture, the  Arts and Humanities Center for Synergy led by Sheri Parks will host a ThinkAThon for Refugees: A Think and Do Day of Intellectual Activism, in which Yasmine Taeb from Friends’ National Committee for Legislation will brief participants on the ongoing refugee crises. Two representatives from the International Rescue Committee will provide briefings on the current refugee crisis in Baltimore, which is one of largest receiver cities of refugees in the Unites States.

The briefings will be followed by group discussions, in which participants will examine specific issues and think of solutions to alleviate the plight of refugees.

The event is co-sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Office of International Affairs.

Lunch will be provided. Participants should register, but walk-ins are welcome.

WHO:

Sheri Parks, Associate Dean for Research, Interdisciplinary Scholarship and Programming in the College of Arts and Humanities

Angelique Kidjo, singer-songwriter and activist from Benin, Africa

Growing up in Benin, Africa, Kidjo was influenced by the sounds and rhythms of Beninese traditional music, as well as jazz, pop, and salsa music. Through her dynamic collaborations with composers such as Philip Glass, Kidjo strives to combine African music with different musical styles.

Kidjo was named one of the 40 most powerful celebrities in Africa by Forbes and one of the 100 most inspiring women in the world by The Guardian. As the founder of the Batonga Foundation for Girls in Africa and is Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, Kidjo is dedicated to empowering the lives of African women.

WHEN:

5:30 - 7 p.m. (WORLDWISE: Arts and Humanities Dean’S Lecture Series)

9 a.m. - 2 p.m. (ThinkAThon for Refugees)

WHERE:

The ThinkAThon for Refugees will be held in the Charles Carroll Room at the Adele H. Stamp Student Union, University of Maryland, College Park.

The WORLDWISE: Arts and Humanities Dean’s Lecture with Sheri Parks and Angélique Kidjo will take place in the Gildenhorn Recital Hall in The Clarice, University of Maryland, College Park. 

Adichie examines the powerful impact storytelling has on politics and culture across generations.

The University of Maryland’s College of Arts and Humanities presents the WORLDWISE Arts and Humanities Dean’s Lecture Series featuring Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 2008 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship recipient and award-winning Nigerian author, and it’s FREE!

WHAT:

An intimate conversation with the influential author, Chimamanda Adichie.  Named by The New Yorker as one of the 20 most important fiction writers under 40 years old, Adichie describes her work as “realist fiction” and is largely inspired by the cultural and political history of her home country of Nigeria.

She will speak  to the cross-generational significance of storytelling and its enduring impact on the cultural history of our lives.

Recently Adichie was also named one of “The New Guard: People Who Are Shaping Washington” by the Washingtonian and awarded the 2011-2012 fellowship by the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.  Her newest novel, “Americanah” will be published by Knopf in May 2013.

WHEN:

Tuesday, February 19, 2013, 5:30-7:30 PM

WHERE:

Gildenhorn Recital Hall, Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 Map.

BACKGROUND:

Presented by the College of Arts and Humanities in collaboration with the Center for Literary and Comparative Studies and the Institute for International Programs.

Admittance is free. Media should present credentials. For those attending:

• Please RSVP with Nicky Everette at meve@umd.edu
• Due to limited seating, please arrive early - Doors open at 5:00 p.m.
• No food/drinks are allowed in the Gildenhorn Recital Hall

ABOUT THE DEAN’S LECTURE SERIES:

The Dean's Lecture Series provides an opportunity for the college faculty, students and staff to join together with colleagues across campus for stimulating conversation about issues that cross our disciplines.  Lectures and performances may address either enduring or emerging questions central to the arts and humanities, or questions arising from other disciplines to which the arts and humanities might speak.

In addition to presenting a major public event, each speaker interacts in smaller settings with faculty, graduate students and/or undergraduates.  This new series follows up on the spirited and popular moderated round table discussions, "BE WORLDWISE: The Arts and Humanities in the 21st Century."

MEDIA:

Media coverage is welcome. Parking is available in the Stadium Drive Garage across from the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center and just off University Blvd.

To join in the live twitter conversation on the day of the event, follow the College of Arts and Humanities on Twitter @umd_arhu and use #ARHUDLS

CONTACT:

For more information about this event, please contact Nicky Everette, College of Arts & Humanities, Director of Marketing and Communications at meve@umd.edu or 301-405-6714.