Themes of dissent, displacement addressed in Ray Smith symposia kick-off event Sept. 14

In keeping with the foci of this year’s Ray Smith symposia, Syracuse University is hosting a special kick-off event devoted to dissent and displacement. Titled “Feeling on the Outside,” the event is Friday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. The program includes a community panel discussion, live music, a mini-exhibition and a reception.

“Feeling on the Outside” is free and open to the public. For more information, call Elane Granger Carrasco, associate director of the Slutzker Center for International Services, at 443-2457.

The event is organized and presented by the Program on Latin America and the Caribbean (PLACA) in the Moynihan Institute for Global Affairs in the Maxwell School and by the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) at SU Library. The symposia are enabled by a major bequest from the estate of Ray W. Smith ’21, administered by The College of Arts and Sciences.

“’Feeling on the Outside’ affirms our commitment to sustained scholarly discussion about important issues,” says Gerald R. Greenberg, the college’s senior associate dean for academic affairs and the humanities; associate dean of curriculum, instruction and programming; and associate professor of languages, literatures and linguistics. “Our goal with this event—and with the symposia in general—is to promote divergent thinking and viewpoints that produce inclusive, cooperative results.”

This year’s Ray Smith symposia are “Moving Borders: The Culture and Politics of Displacement in and from Latin America and the Caribbean,” organized and presented by PLACA, and “Positions of Dissent,” organized and presented by the SCRC, in conjunction with an interdisciplinary group of faculty from across campus. Each symposium features a yearlong line-up of arts and cultural programming, in addition to keynote lectures and mini-seminars.

The synergy is apparent with the kick-off program, which includes the following:

Brief remarks by Greenberg; Granger; Luis Castañeda, assistant professor of art history in the Department of Art and Music Histories; and Sean Quimby, senior director of the SCRC;

A community panel discussion with Valerie Martinez G’12, coordinator of mentoring programs in SU’s Office of Multicultural Affairs, and Daniel Aguilera G’13, a master’s candidate in the College of Visual and Performing Arts; and

A performance by the music group Trío Los Claveles, followed by a reception in the Huntington Beard Crouse Hall breezeway.

Information about the symposia will be on view, as will a selection of archival materials from Grove Press Records, foreshadowing “Positions of Dissent.”

“’Moving Borders’ will look at the impact of cultural, political and economic displacement. ‘Positions of Dissent’ will reflect on the theme of dissent and its relevance to the humanities, while drawing on the rich primary source collections of the SCRC,” says Greenberg. “Both programs will have considerable crossover appeal.”