On October 16th, IU East will host Robert Jensen, a famous journalism professor from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Jensen will explore race issues in his speech “Power and Politics in the Age of Obama: Is the United States Post-Racial?”
Although Dr. Jensen will be discussing racism, he is a significant voice on many other topics ranging from white privilege, feminism (especially as relates to pornography, sexual violence, and the social construction of masculinity), America’s place in the world (particularly its military actions), journalism, and the furthering of progressive political goals through the use of media. He has published dozens of scholarly articles, books, newspaper columns, blogs, and more detailing his thoughts on these issues.
Dr. Jensen came to national attention with a controversial article about America’s moral culpability for the September 11th attacks, which even prompted the president of the University of Texas to publicly denounce him. And Dr. Jensen continues to make headlines with provocative pieces such as his recent critique of Thanksgiving as a celebration of genocide, calling instead for an annual day of fasting and penitence. But the significance of his ideas can most clearly be seen not in controversy, but by the large number of scholars and theorists whose work either builds on Jensen or tries to refute his positions. He is the kind of scholar whose ideas must be considered.
Dr. Jensen’s speech is at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, October 16th in Vivian Auditorium. Admission is free, but tickets can be obtained from the Bursar’s office. If you can’t make it to the speech, Dr. Jensen will also conduct several teaching sessions on October 16th and 17th at IU East and in the Richmond community focused on how to recognize and address hidden racism. Additionally, he will run a workshop for students based on his book “The Heart of Whiteness”.
You can read more by and about Robert Jensen at http://iue.libguides.com/robertjensen