UIS Speaker Series hosts a showcase symposium on the Black Lives Matter movement

WHAT:       The University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE)Speaker Series will host a showcase symposium on the Black Lives Matter movement featuring the work of UIS students.

WHEN:       Monday, February 15, 2016 at 6:00 p.m.

WHERE:      UIS Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library

DETAILS:    UIS students will connect the Black Lives Matter movement to the themes of the ECCE Speaker Series. These themes include how participation in this movement helps them to recognize their own social responsibility toward a larger community of people. Students will also read essays they’ve written in order to provide a greater awareness of and respect for the difficult issues facing Black and African-American peoples in the United States.

Student finalists will be selected in advance to present their prewritten essays in creative forms such as rap, lecture, slam poetry, slides, etc. A brief synopsis of the finalist essays will be read to the audience before the presentations. These student essays will be determined by a committee of faculty and local leaders. The winner(s) of the event will be determined by audience vote and will receive a UIS Bookstore gift certificate.

This event is co-sponsored by the UIS Diversity Center. For a list of other upcoming ECCE Speaker Series events and more information, visit www.uis.edu/speakerseries/. All events are free and open to the public.

UIS Speaker Series features poetry reading and discussion from Slow Lightning

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speaker Series presents ‘Cultural Code Switching in America,’ a poetry reading by author Eduardo C. Corral. The event is co-sponsored by the UIS Department of English, UIS LGBTQA Resource Office, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Vachel Lindsay Association.

WHEN: Thursday, October 29, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.

WHERE: Lincoln Residence Hall Great Room

DETAILS: As part of Queertober, Eduardo C. Corral will present poems from his collection, Slow Lightning, a text that breaks taboos in embracing minority voices, using bilingualism and lyricism to explore the limitations individuals such as him experience.

Corral’s poetry addresses many possibilities as he provides a direct way of engaging with an anti-immigrant and heteronormative society to bring about positive social change.

Corral is a CantoMundo fellow. He holds degrees from Arizona State University and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. His award-winning poems have been featured in numerous publications including; Best American Poetry 2012, Beloit Poetry Journal, and the New England Review. Slow Lightning, was selected as the 2011 winner of the Yale Series of Younger Poets competition.

Corral currently resides in New York City and teaches at Columbia University.

For a list of other upcoming ECCE Speaker Series events and more information, visit www.uis.edu/speakerseries/. All events are free and open to the public.

UIS Speaker Series examines the unexpected link between temporary populations in Los Angeles

WHAT:       The University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE)Speaker Series will explore “Stay” in LA: Temporary Workers and Precarious Duration in Los Angeles, presented by Anne Cong-Huyen.

WHEN:       Tuesday, October 27, 2015 at 10:00 a.m.

WHERE:    Lincoln Residence Hall Great Room

DETAILS:  The global city of Los Angeles has long been notorious for its conflicting representational history. It persists as a destination for workers from the global south searching for opportunities in the hemispheric north.

                     This talk will examine LA as a city where diverse temporary populations struggle to endure and stay, particularly the H1B1 workers from South Asia in the high-tech industry and Latino day laborers. These groups are commonly represented on opposite ends of the economic and social spectrum. However, they are linked by the temporary and racialized nature of their work.

                     Anne Cong-Huyen, coordinator of the Digital Liberal Arts Center at Whittier College in Los Angeles, holds a Ph.D. in English from UC Santa Barbara and is a previous Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Transnational Studies at UCLA. Her research focuses on migration and labor in global cities such as Dubai, Los Angeles and Ho Chi Minh City.       

                     This discussion is co-sponsored by the University of Illinois Springfield Department of English.

For a list of other upcoming ECCE Speaker Series events and more information, visit www.uis.edu/speakerseries/. All events are free and open to the public.

UIS Speaker Series examines how Islam challenges Christian beliefs

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speaker Series will explore Muslim-Christian differences in today’s society in “Islam, the Catholic Church, and the Future of the World,” with Notre Dame Professor Gabriel Said Reynolds. 

WHEN: Wednesday, October 21, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library

DETAILS: This lecture will examine how Islam challenges Christian beliefs, reflect on how the Catholic Church has responded to these challenges through the centuries, and propose ways in which the Church and society might face the newest challenges of Muslim-Christian relations.

Gabriel Said Reynolds is a professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame. He has authored The Qur’an and Its Biblical Subtext and The Emergence of Islam, as well as three volumes on the Qur’an and Christian-Muslim encounters. He has researched and lectured throughout the Middle East and United States.

This speaker series is co-sponsored by the University of Notre Dame Hesburgh Lecture Series and Notre Dame Club of Central Illinois.

For a list of other upcoming ECCE Speaker Series events and more information, visit www.uis.edu/speakerseries/. All events are free and open to the public.

UIS Speaker Series explores the “The Benefits of Economic Freedom”

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield’s Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speaker Series and Department of Liberal & Integrative Studies present “The Benefits of Economic Freedom” featuring Joshua Hall, associate professor of economics at West Virginia University and co-director of the Center for Free Enterprise within the College of Business.

WHEN: Thursday, February 19, 2015 at 6:30 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library

DETAILS: The Economic Freedom of the World (EFW) index has been published annually since 1996. Since its initial publication, the EFW index has been used by scholars to answer a number of important questions regarding the operation and interaction of economic, political, and social systems around the world.

In this talk, Hall provides an overview of the EFW index and the scholarly literature that uses it. He highlights how the measurement of economic freedom has provided a more accurate picture of the diversity that exists globally with respect to societal economic organization. Finally, Hall discusses how his own views of the importance of economic freedom have changed as a result of measuring economic freedom.

Hall earned his bachelor and master degrees in economics from Ohio University and his Ph.D. from West Virginia University in 2007. Prior to returning to his alma mater, he was the Elbert H. Neese, Jr. Professor of Economics at Beloit College and an Economist with the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress. Hall is currently serving as the president of the Association of Private Enterprise Education. He is author of over 100 academic journal articles, book chapters, and scholarly studies. His most recent edited book is Homer Economicus: The Simpsons and Economics.

For a list of other upcoming ECCE Speaker Series events and more information, visit www.uis.edu/speakerseries/. All events are free and open to the public.

UIS Speakers Series examines "The New Black: Family, Faith, and the Fight for Equality"

The University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series explores how the African-American community is grappling with the gay rights issue in light of the recent gay marriage movement and fight for civil rights with a screening of the documentary film The New Black: Family, Faith, and the Fight for Equality. A discussion will follow by award-winning filmmaker Yoruba Richen. 

The film and discussion will take place Monday, October 6, 2014 at 6 p.m. in UIS Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library.

The New Black: Family, Faith, and the Fight for Equality documentary film takes viewers into the pews, onto the streets and seats them at the kitchen table as it charts the evolution of the divisive issue of marriage equality within the Black community leading up to the passage of Maryland’s historic marriage equality act in 2012. 

Richen has been awarded the Creative Promise Award at Tribeca All Access and has served as a Sundance producers’ fellow. She has directed and produced films in the U.S. and abroad. Her experience includes serving as an investigative producer for ABC News and Democracy Now. Richen teaches documentary film at CUNY Graduate School of Journalism and is a Guggenheim Fellow. 

The film, discussion, and reception are sponsored by the UIS Diversity Center; UIS Brookens Library; and the UIS Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning and Allied (LGBTQA) Resource Office.

For a list of other upcoming ECCE Speakers Series events and more information, visit http://illinois.edu/goto/speakerseries. 

All events are free and open to the public.

UIS Speakers Series examines "Cultural Gaps in Education" as part of Hispanic Heritage Month

The University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series continues its focus on Hispanic Heritage Month with a discussion and film screening of Storming the Gates: The Struggle for Access to Higher Education in Illinois, led by industry expert Detmer "DJ" Wells of the Kaleidoscope Group.

The film screening and discussion will take place at Brookens Auditorium on Wednesday, October 1, 2014 at 6 p.m.

Storming the Gates: The Struggle for Access to Higher Education in Illinois is a documentary which traces the history of how minorities gained admission into major academic institutions in Illinois.
 The film illustrates the links between access and the civil rights movements of Blacks and Latinos in the 60s and 70s as well as the role Illinois played in the national struggle for access and equality.

Wells' discussion will include the importance of black and brown people uniting against actions that would cut back on affirmative action gains.

Wells has an extensive background in higher education, including working for the Urban Health Program at University of Illinois at Chicago campus, which seeks to address both health and educational access for traditionally underrepresented minority students in the health professions. He is currently a Vice President at the Kaleidoscope Group, a full service diversity and inclusion consulting firm, and an adjunct faculty member at Governors State University.

For a list of other upcoming ECCE Speakers Series events and more information, click here.

All events are free and open to the public.

Plant artist Pearl Fryar to share his story at UIS

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series welcomes internationally recognized topiary artist Pearl Fryar, an expert on making plants into living art.

WHEN: Tuesday, June 17, 2014 at 6 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library

DETAILS: In 1976, Fryar and his family moved to Bishopville, South Carolina where he began to fight the racial stereotype that “black people don’t keep up their yards.” He bought a house in a black neighborhood and began cutting every bush and tree in his yard into unusual, abstract shapes.

Fryar’s artwork began to attract not only local, but national attention. He’s now transformed over 300 plants into living artwork and has his own Topiary Garden. His garden, recognized world-wide for its creativity, now attracts visitors from around the world. His effect on local social change has been grass roots, both literally and figuratively.

During his discussion, Fryar will share his story and detail how he turns plants into living sculptures. Many of the plants in his garden were rescued from the compost pile at local nurseries in South Carolina. With patience and skilled hands, these “throw aways” have thrived and have been transformed into wonderful abstract shapes.

Fryar’s artwork has been featured in national magazines and newspapers, including The New York Times, as well as several television programs such as CBS Sunday Morning. He’s the subject of the 2006 documentary A Man Named Pearl, which aired on HGTV.

This presentation is sponsored by the University of Illinois at Springfield ECCE Speaker Series and University of Illinois Extension. This event is free and open to the public.

UIS Speakers Series to screen and discuss the documentary "Two Spirits"

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series will screen and discuss the documentary Two Spirits. The discussion will be moderated by Kerry Poynter, director of the UIS LGBTQA Resource Office. This event is free and open to the public.

WHEN: Monday, June 9, 2014 at 6 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library

DETAILS: Two Spirits tells the story of Fred Martinez, one of the youngest hate-crime victims in modern history, who was murdered at 16. The documentary explores the life and death of a boy who was also a girl, and the essentially spiritual nature of gender. Martinez was nádleehí, a male-bodied person with a feminine nature, a special gift according to ancient Navajo culture.

The film interweaves the tragic story of a mother’s loss of her son with a revealing look at a time when the world wasn’t simply divided into male and female, and many Native American cultures held places of honor for people of integrated genders.

Kerry Poynter has over fifteen years of experience working with LGBTQA students in higher education at a number of institutions including Duke University, Columbia University, New York University, and Western Michigan University. He has a master’s degree in Administration of College Student Affairs in Counselor Education & Counseling Psychology. He’s an adjunct instructor in the Women & Gender Studies Department at UIS and teaches a peer education course that trains LGBTQA & heterosexual allied students to facilitate interactive activities across campus on LGBTQA topics.

For more information on the ECCE Speakers Series event, contact Poynter at 217/206-8316 or kpoyn2@uis.edu.

UIS Speaker Series presents "Immigration and Illegality in the American Imagination"

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series presents “Immigration and Illegality in the American Imagination” featuring Judy Tzu-Chun Wu, associate professor of history and women’s, gender and sexuality studies at The Ohio State University.

WHEN: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 at 10:00 a.m.

WHERE: UIS Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library

DETAILS: This talk and multi-media presentation will explore the historical origins and contemporary manifestations of how the U.S. became a "gatekeeping" nation. It focuses on the groups of immigrants - Asian Americans, Eastern and Southern Europeans, Latino/a, political dissidents, women migrating alone, as well as those who have disabilities - which the U.S. government and people have sought to exclude and restrict to socially engineer ideal Americans.

The United States is often described as a nation of immigrants, a characterization that erases the history of indigenous people to the formation of the nation. At the same time, many Americans harbor intense fears about "the huddled masses" and "the wretched refuse" from other shores.

Professor Wu joined the faculty of Ohio State in 1998 after receiving her Ph.D. from Stanford University. She teaches courses on Modern U.S. History, Asian American History, Women's History, Immigration History, History of Comparative Racialization, the 1960s, Intersectionality, Women and Labor, Race and Sex, and American Women's Movements. She is particularly interested in incorporating new media assignments into her classes.

For a list of other upcoming ECCE Speakers Series events and more information, visit http://illinois.edu/goto/speakerseries. All events are free and open to the public.