WHAT: “The Chi’ixi gaze. Sociology of the image as a decolonizing practice,” Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui (Aymara); Sociologist, historian, activist and public intellectual from Bolivia
WHEN: Tuesday, April 17 @ 4 p.m.
WHERE: 319 Gregory Hall, 810 South Wright Street, Urbana
Cusicanqui will also be speaking at 10 a.m. on Wednesday in the Lucy Ellis Lounge of the Foreign Languages Building on “The Struggle for Indigenous Rights in Bolivia and the Government of Evo Morales,” and at 4 p.m. on Wednesday in Room 66 of the Main Library on “Allegories of the Andean Fiesta: Screening and Discussion of Silvia Rivera’s films.” So, if you miss her visit, it wasn’t for lack of opportunities to hear her speak.
From the event announcement about the “Sociology of the Image” event: “‘Sociology of the Image’ refers to a new teaching and research methodology developed at the University of La Paz, focused on bilingual Aymara students’ daily experiences at the university and at home, and the historical memories of their families. The goal is to guide them to pertinent sociological and policical research and action, to overcome the ventriloquist quality of the social sciences, and to develop a more autonomous relation with the Euro-North American conceptual world.”
WHAT: Carr Reading Series featuring Amelia Gray
WHEN: Wednesday, April 18 @ 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Illini Union Bookstore Authors Corner, 809 South Wright Street, Champaign
From the event announcement: “Amelia Gray grew up in Tucson, Arizona. Her debut novel,Threats appears this spring from Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Her first collection of stories, AM/PM, was published in 2009 by Featherproof Books out of Chicago. Her second collection, Museum of the Weird, was awarded the Ronald Sukenick/American Book Review Innovative Fiction Prize. Her fiction has appeared in McSweeney’s, VICE, American Short Fiction, and other publications. She lives in Los Angeles.”
WHAT: Earth Week Events
WHEN: All Week, various times
WHERE: Various locations
Click here to find out about the variety of Earth Week events (including several speakers) going on at the University of Illinois.
You live near a major university and a community college. There are smart people that come here every week to talk to the general public about interesting topics. Perhaps you were not aware of this fact, or were overwhelmed by the sheer number of opportunities for possible enlightenment. If that’s the case, Smile Politely understands and is here to help. Here are several events going on in town this week. Check out one or more of them if you have time. Get your learn on, as they say, and join the cognoscenti. It’s free, you know. Plus, sometimes there’s free food, too!
If you have a community event, speaker, or film event that you’d like to see featured on Listen Up!, send the event information to joelgillespie [at] smilepolitely [dot] com by Friday the week prior to the event. Listen Up! runs on Mondays when classes are in session.