Events

Barbara Earl Thomas: The Illuminated Body - Exhibition

February 17 – May 21, 2024  Barbara Earl Thomas’ most recent series of portraits weave an exquisite tapestry of light and color to depict individuals illuminated in moments of creativity. Invoking the history of portraiture, Thomas’ nine large-scale cut paper pieces celebrate great Black cultural icons such as August Wilson, Seth Parker Woods, and Charles Johnson, alongside Thomas’ friends, family, and acquaintances. Set in contexts ranging from public performance to the quiet of daydreaming, they honor the creative spark in all its manifestations. Thomas describes her subjects with nuance and care, encouraging extended viewing of these vibrant and layered portraits. The portraits are presented with The Transformation Room, a luminous installation created from light and intricately cut Tyvek, which offers a moment of respite for reflection and inspiration.

Lecture Series: Jews and the University: Antisemitism, Admissions, Academic Freedom

January 23 - March 14, 2024  The integration of Jews into the university is one of the great success stories of modern American culture and Jewish life. But recent events at Penn and at other campuses have led to accusations that the university has been too tolerant of antisemitism and become less welcoming to Jews. This free lecture series is an effort to share insights from history, sociology, education studies, and other fields that can help put the present moment into context.

The series kicks off with Dara Horn's in-person appearance at Penn Hillel on January 23, and continues with online talks through February and March.

MLK Symposium - Queer and People of Color Today

LGBT Center (3907 Spruce) | to

A conversation between Amber Hikes, Director of LGBT Affairs for the Mayor/ Penn Alumni, and Damon Humes, Executive Director of Colours, the city's only Black LGBT organization. Moderated by Tiffany Thompson, the 3 will discuss being queer and black for themselves, their careers, and the Philly LGBT community.

MLK Symposium - The Future of Religion and Global Politics

Perry World House, 3803 Locust Walk | to

Penn Hillel and Perry WorldHouse are pleased to announce that Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks will be speakingat Penn on Tuesday, January 16th at 12pm at Perry World House. Rabbi Sacks isan international religious leader, philosopher, award-winning author andrespected moral voice. He will be in conversation with Reverend Dr. CharlesHoward on the topic of The Future of Religion and Global Politics followedby an open q and a. Lunch will be served.

MLK Symposium - Day of Service Breakfast and Volunteer Activities

Hall of Flags, Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce Street | to

The Day of Service events begins with the annual breakfast with guest speaker.
Doors will open at 8:00 am. Contact: AARC @ 215.898.0104

Speech / Acts

Institute of Contemporary Art | to

A View Of One’s Own

Arthur Ross Gallery | to

A Conversation with Chelsea Manning

Zellerbach Theater, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut St. | to

As an intelligence analyst for the U.S. Department of Defense, Chelsea Manning disclosed classified documents to WikiLeaks that revealed human rights abuses and corruption connected to the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She was convicted and sentenced to 35 years in a military prison, but released in 2017 after President Obama commuted her sentence. While in prison, Manning publicly identified as a trans woman and asserted her right to medical therapy.

Now an advocate for government transparency and queer and transgender rights, Manning will speak about topics including artificial intelligence (AI) and resistance in the age of AI; activism and protest; transgender issues; and the intersection of technology and people’s lives.

The conversation with Manning will be moderated by Gabriella Coleman, Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy at McGill University.

 

The event is open to Penn students, faculty, and staff only. Tickets are free but must be reserved through the Annenberg Center box office.

Zakiya Luna, Domesticating Human Rights: Reproductive Justice and the Last Utopia

3810 Walnut, GSWS/APC Conference Room | to

Discussants: Dorothy Roberts, George A. Weiss University Professor of Law and Sociology, Raymond Pace and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Professor of Civil Rights, and Professor of Africana Studies; and Grace L. Sanders Johnson, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies

Feminists Tackling Anti-Black State Violence, A Panel Discussion

Penn Museum, Rainey Auditorium 3260 South Street | to

The past several years have seen an increase in public awareness of political and other forms of state violence, especially those directed at African-Americans and other people of African descent worldwide. While the contemporary uproar about this violence has generated new forms of activism and organization,the history behind these recent incidents is sometimes not sufficiently understood, and the links between events in the United States and elsewhere in the diaspora are not often adequately articulated. This panel brings together feminist scholars across the disciplines to discuss the histories of anti-black violence in a range of locations, the ways these histories are connected, and the strategies people are using to counteract them.

Rosenwald Screening + Q&A

Silversetin Forum, Stiteler Hall, 208 S. 37th Street | to

Join us for the Rosenwald screening + Q&A event on November 15, from 6-8pm in Stiteler Hall B6. Food served at 5:30pm in the Silversetin Forum, Stiteler Hall (208 S. 37th Street).

Opening remarks by Penn faculty Herman Beavers, Professor of English and Africana Studies & Katherine Hellerstein, Ruth Meltzer Director, Jewish Studies Program, and Associate Professor, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures.

Free and Open to the Public.

Diana Henderson, Phyllis Rackin Lecture in Women's Studies

Kislak Pavilion, 6th Floor, Van Pelt Library | to

Speaker: Diana Henderson (Professor of English at Massachusetts Institute of Technology), whose scholarship on women's writing, performance and media has been of great importance to scholars of gender and culture in the Renaissance.

The author of Collaborations with the Past: Reshaping Shakespeare across Time and Media and Passion Made Public: Elizabethan Lyric, Gender and Performance, Professor Henderson served as Immediate Past President of the Shakespeare Association of America (SAA) from 2014 to 2015 and co-chaired the "Women and Culture in the Early Modern World" seminar at the Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard University. She has also been an MIT MacVicar Faculty Fellow since 2009 and is co-editor of the prestigious scholarly journal, Shakespeare Studies.