FSW Presents Fourth Biennial “Education for a New Humanity” Colloquium - Borders/Bordered/Borderless
Feb 16, 2018
FEBRUARY 16, 2018 – FORT MYERS, FLA –Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW) will host the fourth biennial “Education for a New Humanity” colloquium on the theme Borders/Bordered/Borderless, March 14-22, at the FSW Thomas Edison Campus, 8099 College Parkway, Fort Myers.
Organized by the Department of Humanities and Fine Arts, the colloquium offers a variety of platforms designed to spark dialogue across disciplines about key issues facing humankind in the 21st century. The broad notion of Borders/Bordered/Borderless was chosen as the theme in hopes that its suggestion of inclusion/exclusion, the contained and the contiguous, the native, the neighboring, and the nomadic, would offer creative freedom for presenters and generate meaningful insights. The goal of the colloquium is to encourage and empower students and community members not to shrink from difficult socio-political situations but to engage and counter them with critical thought, civil discourse, a rigorous pursuit of the truth, and creative resistance.
Writer, art historian and photographer Teju Cole, will deliver the keynote address, “Known Things and Blind Spots: An Evening with Teju Cole,” at 7 p.m., on Thursday, March 15, in the Rush Auditorium, Building J, Room 103. Cole is the Distinguished Writer in Residence at Bard College and photography critic of the New York Times Magazine. His essay collection, “Known and Strange Things,” was shortlisted for both the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay and the inaugural PEN/Jean Stein Award for “a book that has broken new ground by reshaping the boundaries of its form and signaling strong potential for lasting influence.” “Known and Strange Things” was named a book of the year by the Guardian, the Financial Times, Time Magazine, and many others. His most recent book, “Blind Spot” (June 2017), a genre-crossing work of photography and texts, was shortlisted for the Aperture/Paris Photo Photobook Award and named one of the best books of the year by Time Magazine. Cole has lectured widely, from the Harvard Graduate School of Design to Twitter Headquarters. He gave the 2014 Kenan Distinguished Lecture in Ethics at Duke University, the 2015 Susan D. Gubar Lecture at Indiana University, and the 2016 Spui25 Lecture at the University of Amsterdam. He was awarded the 2015 Windham Campbell Prize for Fiction and a 2015 US Artists award.
On Saturday, March 17 at 8 p.m., performance artists Willie Filkowski and Brita Thorne will present their new work “Camp Denim”—an attempt to pair their experimental two-person playwriting practice with socially-engaged discussions and workshops. “Camp Denim” tells the story of a fake/real radical/queer/feminist summer camp with no campground. Without a space to call home, “Camp Denim” seeks to become the living guidebook for a nomadic generation. The performance will be held in the FSW Black Box Theater, Building L, Room 119.
On Wednesday, March 21 at 3:30 p.m. in the Rush Library Auditorium, Building J, Room 103, Emmy Award-winning World Flutist Kat Epple and World Percussionist, Nathan Dyke, will take the audience on a musical journey across borders and world cultures with their treasure trove of unique instruments from around the globe.
On Thursday, March 22, Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine will host a discussion following a screening of the documentary film “Before the Flood.” The documentary follows Leonardo DiCaprio on his journey across the world to expose the reality of climate change and meet with thought leaders who are fighting against inaction. Mayor Levine is featured in the documentary for his pioneering work as an advocate for climate action. The screening begins at 5 p.m. in the Rush Library Auditorium, Building J, Room 103. Mayor Levine will begin his audience discussion at 7 p.m.
In addition to these signature events, there will be two faculty lectures and a panel discussion:
FSW Humanities Professor Dr. Elijah Pritchett presents his lecture, “Rotten, Vicious and Damned: Punk’s Subjectivity of Resistance,” at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 14, in the Rush Auditorium, Building J, Room 103.
FSW’s Dr. Bruno Baltodano, Dr. Wendy Chase and Dr. Eileen DeLuca will lead a discussion that crosses the disciplinary divides of linguistic anthropology, political science and art history titled, “Positioning Power: Structured Violence, Insurgency, and the Art of Transgression,” at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 20, in Building U, Room 102.
Florida Gulf Coast University Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies Professor Dr. Myra Mendible will present “Borders in the Age of Globalization” at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21, in the Rush Auditorium, Building J, Room 103.
A full schedule of colloquium events can be found at https://www.fsw.edu/newhumanity. All events are free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Dr. Wendy Chase at(239) 489-9470 or Wendy.Chase@fsw.edu.
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Florida SouthWestern State College is Southwest Florida’s largest and one of the most affordable institutions of higher education. Annually serving nearly 22,000 students globally, FSW offers a variety of nationally-ranked, career-focused academic programs with two- and four-year degrees, and professional certifications. Students are also active in clubs and programs catered to their interests. FSW debuted its intercollegiate athletics program in January 2016. Visit www.FSW.edu for more information.
Last Updated: February 16, 2018
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