Professors
Simpson
and
Young
speak
about
their
latest
books
at
a
Drama
and
Speech
Communication
Department
Colloquium,
"Examining
the
Neoliberal
University
and
White
Narratives
of
Race."
Discussion
will
follow
and
light
refreshments
will
be
provided.
Professor
Young's
edited
volume
(with
Clair
Oberon
Garcia
and
Charise
Pimentel),
"
From
Uncle
Tom's
Cabin
to
The
Help:
Critical
Perspectives
on
White-Authored
Narratives
of
Black
Life,"
boldly
investigates
the
promise
and
perils
of
racial
ventriloquism,
that
is,
when
white
authors
appropriate
the
history
and
stories
of
black
life.
While
narratives
films
such
as
The
Help,
Django
Unchained,
and
The
Blind
Side
have
achieved
popular
acclaim,
they
have
also
been
the
subject
of
critical
controversy,
demonstrating
that
the
much
touted
'post-racial
America'
has
yet
to
come
to
terms
with
the
power
of
race
in
contemporary
imaginative
and
social
lives.
Professor
Simpson's
monograph,
"Longing
for
Justice:
Higher
Education
and
Democracy's
Agenda,"
combines
personal
narrative
with
critical
analysis
to
make
the
case
for
educational
practices
that
connect
to
questions
of
democracy,
justice,
and
the
common
good.
In
a
bold
challenge
to
conventional
wisdom
about
Higher
Education,
Simpson
argues
that
today’s
neoliberal
educational
norms
foreground
abstract
concepts
and
leave
the
complications
of
real
life,
especially
the
intricacies
of
power,
unexamined.
Analysing
modern
teaching
techniques,
including
service
learning
and
civic
engagement,
Simpson
concludes
that
for
Higher
Education
to
serve
democracy
it
must
strengthen
students’
abilities
to
critically
analyse
social
issues,
recognize
and
challenge
social
inequities,
and
pursue
justice.
