Issues of race, national identity are examined in Cultural Studies lecture

Do people in a modern, educated society still judge others based on the colour of their skin?

Scholar, social critic and author David Chariandy will speak on the topic, Post-race: Hope and Delusion in the 21st Century, as part of the Cultural Studies speaker program at UBC’s Okanagan campus.

Chariandy’s lecture, free and open to the public, takes place Tuesday, October 22, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at University Theatre, 1138 Alumni Ave., UBC’s Okanagan campus, Kelowna.

Chariandy is also appearing as a UBC Visiting Author. He will give a reading of his works on Monday, October 21, 7 p.m. at the Okanagan Regional Library at 1380 Ellis St. Kelowna.

An associate professor of English at Simon Fraser University and co-founder of Commodore Books, the first black press in Western Canada, Chariandy has written widely on questions of race, culture and national identity. He also explores themes of gender, sexuality and religion, interpreting such issues in historic and modern contexts.

While the 20th century was often defined by “colour lines” across society and fundamental struggles for equality, Chariandy says that the world in the 21st century remains plagued with hostile attitudes about race and identity.

“Today, the growing challenge may be the widespread assumption, voiced across the political spectrum, that we have progressed beyond the colour line,” says Chariandy.

He argues that “post-race” has a complex lineage, with social movements playing a significant role “to reach beyond the question of race, narrowly interpreted, and address hierarchies and injustices relating to gender, class, sexuality, nationality and religion.”

The Cultural Studies Annual Speaker event is funded by the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, in collaboration with the Visiting Author series.

What: UBC Cultural Studies Annual Speaker series presents David Chariandy, lecturing on the topic Post-race: Hope and Delusion in the 21st Century
When: Tuesday, October 22, 3:30 to 5 p.m.
Where: University Theatre (Room ADM026), Administration Building, 1138 Alumni Way, UBC’s Okanagan campus, Kelowna
Admission: Free and open to the public

News from © iNFOnews, 2013