Historical Geographies for the Present: Stories of Race in Everyday Landscapes

press release: This talk posits the cultural landscape as foundational to racial formation in the US, and suggests the potential to intervene through landscape in addressing racist practice as a “social wrong.” It will tell stories of particular contemporary landscapes to: first, illustrate landscape sedimentations and discursive continuities around racial themes in order to; second, address the potential of landscape to mediate social conflict before; ultimately, asking questions about who gets to tell landscape stories, how we tell them, who belongs, and what different questions we might ask if we listen to different voices. The talk moves between landscape as an object and landscape as a method for how we negotiate and live in the racialized world.

The Yi-Fu Lecture Series features a wide variety of U.S. and international guest lecturers from all geographic disciplines. Lecturers at these Friday seminars also often speak at brown-bag lunches, one-on-one student sessions, and breakfast meetings with student interest groups as part of their visit. Doctoral students are invited to present their final research. The lecture series was initiated by Dr. Tuan and receives enthusiastic support as a department and campus tradition.

All lectures are presented on Friday at 3:30pm in Science Hall - Rm 180 unless otherwise noted. Alumni, friends and the public are always invited to attend.