Professors from the University of Colorado at Boulder and Colorado State University are working together to present the conference, "Beyond the Image: Crossing Cultures Through Film," on March 17 at CSU's Lory Student Center.
Nine faculty members from each campus will participate in panels on different methods of using film to teach diversity issues in the classroom. The keynote speaker is Rosa Linda Fregoso, a nationally known scholar in Chicana cinema and a professor at the University of California at Davis.
Fregoso will open the conference from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Longs Peak Room. The conference will end at 5:15 p.m.
"Each presenter examines how best to explore issues of diversity -- having to do with ethnicity, race, class, gender, sexuality and their intersections -- through the medium of movies as well as video documentaries," said Lane Hirabayashi, CU-Boulder ethnic studies professor and event co-coordinator.
The conference, which has been in the works for almost two years, is part of ongoing work to link the CU-Boulder department of ethnic studies and the Center for Applied Studies in American Ethnicity at CSU. Hirabayashi said the programs are two of the largest of their kind in Colorado.
"Because our faculties and foci are different, however, we are interested in initiating a series of collaborative ventures in order to make the best use of our diverse talents," Hirabayashi said. "The 'Beyond the Image' conference already indicates the potential benefits of this approach, for our faculty, for our students and for the public at large."
Presenters for the conference come from various academic backgrounds including ethnic studies, women's studies, American studies,political science, speech communications, English and social work. Some of the presenters' works will be published in a teaching anthology with a grant from the Fort Collins' Fort Fund and supported by the CU-Boulder ethnic studies department and CASAE.
Following is a list of CU-Boulder presenters and their presentation titles:
o Professor Adeleke Adeeko of English, "Is Multiculture Possible? Mira Nair's 'Mississippi Masala.' "
o Professor Brenda Allen of communication, "It Is More Than 'Skin Deep'; Using Video to Teach Race and Critical Thinking."
o Professor Marilyn Alquizola of ethnic studies, "Eat a Bowl of Tea: Transformation from Novel to Film."
o Professor Lee Bernstein of women's studies, "Screens and Bars: Confronting Cinema Representations of Race and Crime in the Classroom."
o Doctoral student Heather Boylan of education, "The Color of Fear: Dealing With the Denial of Racism."
o Professor Elisa Facio of ethnic studies, "Deconstructing Heterosexist Privilege: Teaching and Learning Chicana Queer Studies."
o Professor Michiko Hase of women's studies, "Film and Video in a Global Classroom: Informing Â鶹ÒùÔº and Unpacking 'Hidden Scripts.' "
o Professor Lane Hirabayashi of ethnic studies, "Lest We Forget: The Politics of Teaching Early Korean-American History Through Video."
o Professor Lisa Sun-Hee Park of women's studies, Professor David Naguib Pellow of ethnic studies and Professor Brett Stockdill, "Sifting Through the Layers of Social Inequality."
The event is free and open to the public. For more information on the conference call Hirabayashi at (303) 492-0419 or CSU Professor Jun Xing at (970) 491-2418.