Future of Minority Studies 2006 Summer Seminar

Posted by on December 9, 2005

[posted from Community Based Participatory Research listserv]

Future of Minority Studies 2006 Summer Seminar
“Theory from the Periphery: Minority Struggles for Social Justice”
July 24 ? August 4, 2006
http://www.fmsproject.cornell.edu/

Seminar Leaders:
Michael Hames-Garcia, Barbara and Carlisle Moore Distinguished Visiting Professor, University of Oregon and Associate Professor of English, Binghamton
University and Paula M. L. Moya, Associate Professor and Vice-Chair of English, Stanford University

Seminar Description: Over the last few decades, scholars concerned with social justice have offered excellent accounts of local, specific, and concrete struggles that often point to, without necessarily explaining, global structural processes. Other social theorists have produced powerful analyses of oppression and domination at the global level, but these often do not take into account day-to-day experiences or local variation. Therefore, this course will be organized around several research questions all of which relate to the necessary mediation between the “local” and the “global,” and to the role of identity in that mediation.

In this two-week, intensive summer seminar, participants will be concerned with analyzing, evaluating, and producing theory from the perspective of minorities struggling for social justice. Some of the questions they will ask include: How can theorists both develop theory praxically and extrapolate it to larger contexts? How do we move from individual experiences to larger social meanings? How might we analyze broader social movements while attending to individual subjectivities? How do our social contexts affect our personal choices? The readings for the course will be drawn from the disciplines of sociology, philosophy, literary theory, and psychology.

Seminar members will participate in the two-day colloquium organized by the Future of Minority Studies Research Project on July 28-29.

Eligibility:
Doctoral students who have completed at least two years of their Ph.D. work and junior faculty in temporary or tenure-track positions who are working on minority issues. Minority scholars and those who are at HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions are especially encouraged to apply. For the twelve scholars selected to participate in the summer institute, subsidy will be available to cover room, board, and (if needed) travel costs. FMS does not charge tuition or fees. Application deadline: December 20, 2005.

The FMS Summer Institute is funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.