Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture

Syracuse Symposium Kicks Off 19th Year of Programming

Wednesday, September 21, 2022, By Dan Bernardi
Share
College of Arts and SciencesHumanities CenterSyracuse Symposium

The Syracuse University Humanities Center celebrates Syracuse Symposium’s 19th year with a diverse selection of public events exploring “repair” in the context of medicine, religion, the environment and more. Through a lineup that includes a film festival, lectures, workshops, exhibitions and readings, programming will consider whether and when “repair” is possible, and encourage ethically based action. Symposium’s annual theme is chosen by the center’s advisory board, whose members review proposals and select each year’s events and activities.

graphic with words repair, with a construction cone, and syracuse symposium 2022-23According to Humanities Center Director Vivian May, this year’s season will examine the concept of repair through different historical, political and cultural lenses. She notes that while for many, repair signifies healing, mending or fixing, or bringing together (re-pairing) or restoring, it can also reference questions of restitution and reparations.

“Repair, as a verb, entails action—and the concept touches on key questions about what’s possible to repair, how, and by whom” says May, who also directs the Central New York Humanities Corridor. “For instance,” she asks, “who/what is seen as in need of ‘repair’ or as broken? How might repair and justice be ‘stitched’ together?” Furthermore, she notes, as much as repair can signal healing (in a positive sense), it can also reinforce prevailing ideas about health, cure and able-bodied norms.

This year’s Syracuse Symposium kicks off with the 20th Annual Syracuse University Human Rights Film Festival. Presented by the Humanities Center and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, the three-day festival features a line-up of award-winning films addressing social justice issues around the globe with ties to the symposium theme of “repair.” All films listed below will be screened on the Syracuse University campus.

Thursday, Sept. 22

  • “Tantura” – Investigating what happened in the Palestinian village of Tantura in 1948, director Alon Schwarz explores Israeli society’s taboo on discussing the Nakba (Catastrophe) that displaced an estimated 700,000 Palestinians.

Friday, Sept.23

  • “Framing Agnes” – This collaborative reimagination by Chase Joynt breathes new life into long-lost medical archives, revealing the never-before-seen histories of transgender people in 1960s Los Angeles.

Saturday, Sept. 24

  • “Hidden Letters” – In this film by Violet Du Feng and Zhao Qing, a centuries-old secret text created by Chinese women promises modern female empowerment, but also commercial exploitation by the government.
  • “Aftershock” – This documentary by Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee highlights the dangers Black mothers face as they give birth in the U.S., and how their grieving families try to heal and change society.
  • “Rehana Maryam Noor” – A young female doctor fights to bring justice for a student sexually assaulted by one of her senior colleagues in this Bangladeshi drama by Abdullah Mohammad Saad.

Other Symposium Highlights:

Repairing Catholicism: Jamie Manson (Catholics for Choice) will be on campus for two events Oct. 6 and 7. The first, Catholic Women Speak—and Act: Repairing and Reclaiming a Progressive Faith-Based Vision, will feature a discussion about how intersectional activism can reshape and redirect the role of religion in the public square. The second event, Repairing Catholicism: Strategies for the 21st Century, is a workshop highlighting strategies, priorities and effective means of engagement for those interested in transformative justice.

Writing to Repair: Jennifer Mercieca, professor of communication and journalism at Texas A&M, and Ryan Skinnell, associate professor or rhetoric and composition at San Jose State, will present two events on Oct. 24. In Writing for Public Media, each will share their experiences translating research for general and public audiences. Their other event, Write to Repair, will offer ways to restore the relationship between discourse and democracy.

Environmental Justice: On Oct. 27, documentarian Jason Corwin (Seneca Deer Clan) will screen his film, “Denying Access,” which chronicles the Water Protectors at Standing Rock and Seneca Territory as they opposed the Dakota Access and Northern Access Pipelines. Corwin, an assistant professor of Indigenous studies at the University at Buffalo, will discuss the ways he and other Senecas worked to successfully stop the Northern Access Pipeline, which was slated to transport fracked gas upstream from their territories. On Oct. 28, Corwin will lead a workshop exploring how stories can move people to action, with focus on filmmaking in pursuit of environmental justice.

The Power to Heal Through Writing: Poet and author Sapphire, whose best-selling novel “Push” inspired the Academy Award-winning film “Precious,” will offer two virtual presentations. The first, It Takes a Village: Recovering Our Children Through Literature and Literacy on Nov. 3, will illustrate how literature and literacy can transform young lives. In Literature, Trauma, and Healing: A Craft Discussion with Sapphire on Nov. 4, she will discuss how writers can work toward healing when dealing with traumatic material.

View the full list of 2022-23 Syracuse Symposium programming.

  • Author

Dan Bernardi

  • Recent
  • Arts and Sciences Hosts Inaugural Scholarship and Research Gala
    Friday, May 9, 2025, By Sean Grogan
  • Chancellor Kent Syverud Honored as Distinguished Citizen of the Year at 57th Annual ScoutPower Event
    Thursday, May 8, 2025, By News Staff
  • New Maymester Program Allows Student-Athletes to Develop ‘Democracy Playbook’
    Thursday, May 8, 2025, By Wendy S. Loughlin
  • From Policy to Practice: How AI is Shaping the Future of Education
    Thursday, May 8, 2025, By Christopher Munoz
  • Kohn, Wiklund, Wilmoth Named Distinguished Professors
    Thursday, May 8, 2025, By Wendy S. Loughlin

More In Arts & Culture

School of Architecture Faculty Pablo Sequero Named Winner of 2025 Architectural League Prize

School of Architecture faculty member Pablo Sequero’s firm, salazarsequeromedina, has been named to the newest cohort of winners in the biennial Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers, one of North America’s most prestigious awards for young practitioners. “An…

A&S Cool Class: Chinese Art

Exploring diverse artistic traditions is one way students in the College of Arts and Sciences develop global perspectives and enhance their cultural awareness, necessary for success in today’s connected world. Artworks from around the world, including those from China, offer…

Jane Austen Returns to Syracuse Stage With Fresh and Fun ‘Sense and Sensibility’

Syracuse Stage continues its 2024/25 season with celebrated actor and playwright Kate Hamill’s whirlwind adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility.” Directed by Jason O’Connell, “Sense and Sensibility” will run April 23-May 11 in the Archbold Theatre at Syracuse Stage,…

Syracuse Student Co-Headlines Society for New Music Concert April 13

Music by Syracuse University graduate student Rolando Gómez is part of the Society for New Music (SNM)’s annual Prizewinners Concert on Sunday, April 13, at 4 p.m. at CNY Jazz Central (441 East Washington St., Syracuse). A master’s student in…

Faculty, Staff Invited to Participate in This Year’s ‘On My Own Time’ Celebration

The University is pleased to announce its participation in “On My Own Time”—a celebration of local visual arts that highlights the often-unsung artists who create art on their own time. This year is the 52nd anniversary of this program, organized…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.