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August Wilson Plays and Critical Perspectives
August Wilson Century Cycle /
Fences /
Piano Lesson /
Gem of the Ocean /
Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Radio Golf /
King Hedley II /
Jitney /
Two Trains Running /
August Wilson: Three Plays /
Seven Guitars
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom /
The Dramatic Vision of August
Wilson /
August Wilson and Black Aesthetics
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Situating
August Wilson
in
the Canon and in the Curriculum
A
Two-Day Symposium
Howard
University April 8-9, 2005
The Dramatic Vision of August
Wilson
On
April 8 and 9, 2005, Howard University will be the site for a
groundbreaking symposium on the works of Pulitzer Prize winning
playwright August Wilson. Entitled Situating August Wilson in the
Canon and in the Curriculum: A Two-Day Symposium, this
interdisciplinary forum among scholars, educators, critics, and
theatre practitioners will affirm August Wilson's place within the
academy as one of the foremost interpreters of the
African-American experience. The symposium will
feature innovative and
informative panels, performance-based workshops, roundtable
discussions as well as book signings by nationally and
internationally known Wilson scholars. The stellar
lineup of participants will include critically acclaimed actresses
of the stage and screen, Phylicia Rashad and Rosalyn Coleman and veteran actor Charles S. Dutton.
The
two-day event, coordinated by Dr. Sandra G. Shannon, Professor in
the Department of English and August Wilson scholar, is made
possible by a grant from the Howard University Fund for Academic
Excellence. To view the exciting list of sessions, click on
http://www.coas.howard.edu/events/#wils
For more
information, contact Dr. Sandra G. Shannon at 202-806-5443 or at sshannon@howard.edu
Situating August Wilson in the Canon and in the Curriculum:
A Two-Day Symposium
April 8-9, 2005 Howard University Washington, DC
20059
Thursday,
April 7:
*Opening Night
of The Piano Lesson
8:00 p.m.
Arena Stage, 1101
Sixth Street, Washington, DC
Friday,
April 8:
Registration/
Continental Breakfast/ Book Exhibits
8:00 - 9:00 a.m.
North Corridor, Blackburn Center
Opening Plenary:
Welcome, Symposium
Highlights, Introductions
9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
Forum, Blackburn Center
Session
I: REWRITING HISTORY: THE PLAYS
10:00 - 11:15 a.m.
Forum, Blackburn
Center
“Getting Justice:
The Discourse of Fulfillment in Two
Trains Running”
Barbara Lewis, University
of Massachusetts-Boston
“Fighting the
Blues: The Plays of August Wilson”
Clay Goss, Morgan
State University
“The Storytelling
Challenge in Ma Rainey’s
Black Bottom and Other August Wilson Plays”
Von Washington, Sr., Western
Michigan University
*As guests of
Washington, DC’s Arena Stage Theatre, symposium panelists and
other invited speakers will attend the Opening Night performance
of August Wilson’ The Piano Lesson. The Shuttle Bus for all invited guests will depart
from the front of Cramton Auditorium at 7 p.m. sharp.
Session
II: ‘BLOOD’S MEMORY’: CULTURE AND HISTORY
10:00 - 11:15 a.m.
Auditorium,
Blackburn Center
"August Wilson:
Cultural Historian Offering Power to the Powerless and Bridging
Christianity and African Spirituality”
Elvira Jensen-Casado, Catholic
University of Saint Anthony, Murcia, Spain
“What He Learned
from Zora: August Wilson as Ethnographer”
Ladrica Menson-Furr, University
of Memphis
“Waiting for the
Wrap: August Wilson and the Historical Record”
Alan Nadel, Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute
TALK-BACK SESSION: The Piano Lesson
11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Ira Aldridge Theatre
*Charles S. Dutton and Rosalyn Coleman / Molly
Smith and Seret Scott
*LUNCH
12:30 – 1:15 p.m.
LUNCHEON FOR PRESENTERS AND HONORED GUESTS
12:30 – 1:15 p.m.
Sponsored
by the Honors Program of the College of Arts and Sciences,
Howard
University Gallery Lounge, Blackburn Center
POETRY IN MOTION:
HOWARD UNIVERSITY CREATIVE WRITING
STUDENTS
Directed
by
Dr. Tony Medina, Professor of Creative Writing,
Howard
University Gallery Lounge, Blackburn Center
KEYNOTE ADDRESS:
1:30 – 230 p. m.
Forum, Blackburn
Center
“August Wilson and the Doing and Undoing of History”
Dr.
Harry J. Elam, Jr. Editor, Theatre
Journal
Olive
H. Palmer Professor in the Humanities
Stanford
University
*Blackburn Center
restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
“The Punch-Out,” located on the lower level of the Blackburn Center, offers alternative cuisine, such as Chik-Filet,
pizzas, burgers, and fresh salads.
Session
III: FIGHTING AGAINST HISTORY:
AUGUST WILSON’S ‘MARKED’ MEN
3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Auditorium,
Blackburn Center
“From Wanna-Be
Righteous Brother to Dysfunctional Fathers: The
Challenges to Black Manhood in August Wilson’s Work”
Kimmika L. H.
Williams-Witherspoon, Temple
University
"Troy Maxson is
No Loman”
Chris Bell, Georgia
Military College
SESSION IV:
THEORIZING AUGUST
WILSON
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Forum, Blackburn
Center
“Answering August
Wilson’s Call: A Signifying Black Aesthetic Theory"
Hershell Norwood, Texas
Tech University
"August
Wilson’s Poetics”
Mikell Pinkney, University
of Florida
"The Holy
Ghost, the Son, and the Father: A Theory of Syncretism, Inversion,
and Cultural Memory in August Wilson’s King
Hedley II”
Aaron Bryant, University
of Maryland at College Park
SCHOLARS’ ROUNDTABLE
4:10 – 5:30 p.m.
Forum, Blackburn
Center
Margaret Booker,
Harry J. Elam, Jr., Marilyn Elkins, Alan Nadel, Mikell Pinkney,
Kim Pereira, and Sandra Shannon
Moderated by Sandra Richards, Northwestern
University
BOOK-SIGNING, RECEPTION
5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Sponsored by Howard
University Press / Howard University Bookstore / 2225 Georgia
Avenue
“The Long Walk of
Courage: An Evening with Harry Belafonte”
7:00 p.m
Cramton Auditorium
Saturday,
April 9:
Registration/
Continental Breakfast
8:00 - 9:00 a.m.
Atrium, Recital
Hall
/ 3002 Fine Arts Building
WELCOME
9:00 -9:10 a.m.
Recital Hall / 3001
Fine Arts Building
SESSION
V: WINDOWS TO TEACHING AUGUST
WILSON
9:10 – 10:30 a.m.
Smart Room, 3013
Fine Arts Building
“Interactive
Teaching with August Wilson’s Texts”
Caleen Sinnette Jennings, American
University
“The African
American Experience: An Interdisciplinary Examination of Five
Plays by August Wilson”
Jack Balcer,
Barry Hollar, Kristina Cotis, and Rachel Straley
Shenandoah University
“Teaching Moments
in August Wilson’s Plays”
Kathryn Ervin, California
State University at San Bernardino
SESSION
VI: TEACHING PERFORMANCE AND
PERFORMING TEACHING WITH AUGUST WILSON
9:10 – 10:30 a.m.
Recital Hall,
3001 Fine Arts Building
“Rewriting
History: Stage Sets as Sites of Memory in August Wilson’s
Published Plays”
Margaret Booker, Stanford
University
“Teaching Imagery
and Symbolism in August Wilson’s Plays”
Yvonne Shafer, St.
Johns University
“Wilson’s Women
as Teachers: Using August Wilson’s Female Characters to Explore
the African American Experience”
Vivian Gist Spencer, Anne
Arundel Community College
SESSION
VII: NEGOTIATING
CLASSROOM DYNAMICS
WHILE TEACHING AUGUST WILSON
10:30-12 noon
Recital Hall,
3001 Fine Arts Building
“Black Text-White
Teacher: Classroom Negotiations of Racial Difference and the Texts
of August Wilson”
Marilyn Elkins, California
State University, Los Angeles
“Black
Teacher, Black Text, and a Predominantly White Class”: Some
Challenges in Teaching August Wilson”
Beth Turner, New
York University’s Tisch School of the Arts
“The Kiln in Which
I Was Fired”: Wilson’s Politics in Public, in the Plays, and
in the Classroom”
Richard Noggle, University
of Kansas
SESSION
VIII: AUGUST WILSON’S DRAMATIC VISION
10:30 – 12 noon
Smart Room, 3013
Fine Arts Building
“August
Wilson Gives Us the Goddess: The Gem of the Hill in the Ten-Play
Cycle”
Kimberly
C. Ellis, University of
Houston
“Teaching Jitney
as an Introduction to the Wilson Canon”
Noe Montez,
Indiana University
“Living
for the City: The 20th Century Black Urban Environment as
Seen through the Artistry of August Wilson”
Charles Dumas, Penn State University
*LUNCH
12:30 – 1:15 p.m.
Cafeteria,
Lower Level
/ Blackburn Center
LUNCHEON FOR PRESENTERS
12:30
– 1:15 p.m.
Sponsored
by the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center
Hilltop
Lounge, Blackburn Center
*Symposium
guests may dine in the Cafeteria located on the lower level of the
Blackburn Center at your own expense.
CULMINATING SYMPOSIUM ADDRESS
1:30 – 2:00 p.m.
Recital
Hall, 3001 Fine Arts Building
The Ground on Which
We Stand: Developing Artists and Critics Discuss August
Wilson"
College of Arts & Sciences Honors Program Students
2:00 – 3: 00 p.m
Directed
by Professors Kim Bey and Sybil Roberts-Williams, Howard University.
Recital Hall, 3001 Fine Arts Building
CLOSING REMARKS
3:00 – 3:30
p.m.
Recital Hall, 3001 Fine Arts Building
BOOK SIGNING
4:00 – 5:00 p.
Fine
Arts Building
*
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Situating
August Wilson in the Canon and in the Curriculum:
A
Two-Day Symposium
is
made possible by generous support from the following:
Howard
University’s Fund for Academic Excellence
Arena
Stage Theatre
College
of Arts and Sciences Office of the Dean and Honors Program
The
Moorland-Spingarn Research Center
The
Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Assessment (CETLA)
Howard
University’s Department of Theatre Arts
For more
information, contact Dr. Sandra G. Shannon at 202-806-5443 or at sshannon@howard.edu
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Gem of the World
By August Wilson
Set in 1904, 285
year-old Aunt Esther welcomes two
strangers into her home. Solly Two
Kings, a former Union Army-man who was
born into slavery; and Citizen Barlow, a
young man in search for redemption. Aunt
Esther guides Citizen through a
spiritual journey to the mythical City
of Bones aboard the legendary slave
ship, Gem of the Ocean. Meanwhile, chaos
ensues in the real world where Solly is
wrongfully accused of a crime and gets
shot as a result. Come to our
performance to find out how this
magnificent story unravels.
No one except
perhaps Eugene O’Neill and Tennessee
Williams has aimed so high and achieved
so much in the American theater.—John
Lahr, The New Yorker
A
swelling battle hymn of transporting
beauty. Theatergoers who have followed
August Wilson’s career will find in Gem
a touchstone for everything else he has
written.”—Ben
Brantley, The New York Times |
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Wilson’s
juiciest material. The play holds the stage and its
characters hammer home, strongly, the notion of
newfound freedom.—Michael
Phillips, Chicago Tribune
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1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus
Created
By Charles C. Mann
I’m
a big fan of Charles Mann’s previous
book
1491:
New Revelations of the Americas Before
Columbus, in which he
provides a sweeping and provocative
examination of North and South America
prior to the arrival of Christopher
Columbus. It’s exhaustively researched
but so wonderfully written that it’s
anything but exhausting to read. With
his follow-up,
1493, Mann has taken it to a
new, truly global level. Building on the
groundbreaking work of Alfred Crosby
(author of
The Columbian Exchange and, I’m
proud to say, a fellow Nantucketer),
Mann has written nothing less than the
story of our world: how a planet of what
were once several autonomous continents
is quickly becoming a single,
“globalized” entity.
Mann not only talked to countless
scientists and researchers; he visited
the places he writes about, and as a
consequence, the book has a marvelously
wide-ranging yet personal feel as we
follow Mann from one far-flung corner of
the world to the next. And always, the
prose is masterful. In telling the
improbable story of how Spanish and
Chinese cultures collided in the
Philippines in the sixteenth century, he
takes us to the island of Mindoro whose
“southern coast consists of a number of
small bays, one next to another like
tooth marks in an apple.” We learn how
the spread of malaria, the potato,
tobacco, guano, rubber plants, and sugar
cane have disrupted and convulsed the
planet and will continue to do so until
we are finally living on one integrated
or at least close-to-integrated Earth.
Whether or not the human instigators of
all this remarkable change will survive
the process they helped to initiate more
than five hundred years ago remains,
Mann suggests in this monumental and
revelatory book, an open question. |
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Ratification
The People Debate the Constitution,
1787-1788
By Pauline Maier
A notable historian
of the early republic, Maier devoted a
decade to studying the immense
documentation of the ratification of the
Constitution. Scholars might approach
her book’s footnotes first, but history
fans who delve into her narrative will
meet delegates to the state conventions
whom most history books, absorbed with
the Founders, have relegated to
obscurity. Yet, prominent in their local
counties and towns, they influenced a
convention’s decision to accept or
reject the Constitution. Their
biographies and democratic credentials
emerge in Maier’s accounts of their
elections to a convention, the political
attitudes they carried to the conclave,
and their declamations from the floor.
The latter expressed opponents’
objections to provisions of the
Constitution, some of which seem
anachronistic (election regulation
raised hackles) and some of which are
thoroughly contemporary (the power to
tax individuals directly). Ripostes from
proponents, the Federalists, animate the
great detail Maier provides, as does her
recounting how one state convention’s
verdict affected another’s. Displaying
the grudging grassroots blessing the
Constitution originally received, Maier
eruditely yet accessibly revives a
neglected but critical passage in
American history.—Booklist |
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ChickenBones Store
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update 29
February 2012
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