Sunday Speaker Topic: Dr. Neal A. Lester - Social Justice in Action: Models for Campus & Community
Description:
Join us for a timely and essential discussion with Dr. Neal A. Lester, Foundation Professor of English and Founding Director of ASU's Project Humanities. Dr. Lester will delve into the critical themes of his latest book, Social Justice in Action: Models for Campus and Community (2024), within the context of the current societal landscape and the rise of anti-DEI sentiments.
“Addressing both veterans of justice work and novices seeking points of entry, the essays in this volume showcase practical approaches to diversity, equity, and inclusion: ways to build community, earn trust, tell unheard stories, and develop solutions to problems. Emphasizing values such as empathy, self-reflection, and integrity, the volume is rooted in humanities work but also features contributions from fields as diverse as the performing arts, architecture, and evolutionary biology and represents settings beyond the college campus, such as schools, libraries, museums, and prisons. While bringing insights from higher education, it critiques the system as well, exploring the ways that institutions reinforce power structures and exclude marginalized voices. Interspersed with the essays, brief reflections by activists and artists offer testimony and inspiration.”
Bio:
Dr. Neal A. Lester is Foundation Professor of English and Founding Director of the award-winning Project Humanities initiative at Arizona State University.
With expertise in African American literature and culture, Dr. Lester's impressive list of engagements includes hundreds of lectures, interviews, and acclaimed international talks on race and humanity.
A prolific author and editor, Dr. Lester has authored, edited, or co-edited 8 books, and contributed to numerous academic discussions through 33 scholarly essays and 11 book chapters.
He's especially recognized for his pioneering work on the N-word, creating and teaching the first college course on the subject in the U.S. His essay on teaching this course has been downloaded over 11,000 times.
Under Dr. Lester's leadership since 2011, Project Humanities initiative has garnered more than 300 local and national media stories and several awards, reflecting its significant reach. Its core mission is to "talk, listen, and connect" by bringing together individuals and communities for engaged, inclusive, and multidisciplinary public conversations on humanities, social justice, and various contemporary issues
His impactful academic and community contributions have also earned him titles such as Dean’s Distinguished Professor of English and Arizona Humanities Distinguished Professor, and myriad honors and awards including the 2014 Roy Wilkins Community Service Award, the highest honor from the East Valley NAACP chapter.
Please Note:
Doors open at 9:00 am for optional buffet breakfast ($5 donation) and socializing. Speaker program begins at 10:00 am.
Important: $5 breakfast fee waived for awesome humans bringing in food to share!
If you can help with set-up, clean-up, and/or by bringing a breakfast casserole, please go to SignUpGenius HERE.
A Children's Program is available during the Speaker Meeting. Go to a separate Meetup to RSVP for your kids HERE.
Prefer to join us remotely?
- Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88103534615?pwd=oxAEoZTZ6s220Xslo5LMkUgLuK8MYA.1
- YOUTUBE: You can watch live (15 second delay), or you can watch later. LINK HERE
Need help? Email humanist@hsgp.org before the day of this meeting.
The Humanist Society of Greater Phoenix presents its Sunday Speaker meetings twice a month on Sunday mornings. Meetings are free and open to the public.
**Go to our YouTube channel to see past meetings, presentations and interviews. Please become a subscriber--it's free! LINK HERE
**We invite you to become a dues-paying member of HSGP. To become a member or make a donation, go to www.hsgp.org
HSGP HUMANIST CENTER
MESA, AZ 85201-4009
United States