Grant Projects

Transnational Encounters: World-Renowned Authors at the University of Delaware

Iain Crawford, Monika Shafi, Richard Zipser,

We are inviting six internationally known authors over a four-semester period beginning in the fall 2011 semester. Each author will spend two days on campus. During this period she/he will present a public lecture, a reading, and interact with students, faculty, and others. The thematic and conceptual focus of the series is on transnationalism and diversity, and the authors will be selected on the basis of their contributions to this topic.One hallmark of an intellectually vibrant campus is the opportunity to hear and engage with leading scholars and artists of diverse national and international communities. Our high-profile authors series seeks to create a forum for such an engagement at UD, using the medium of world literature in order to discuss and reflect upon such issues as new forms of migration, the role of the nation state, identity politics, or gender and family structures. The series will bring significant attention to UD and highlight its commitment to all aspects of diversity. It will also engage large segments of the campus and broader community with current core intellectual issues related to transnationalism and diversity.There will be six events: One is scheduled for fall 2011 and one for spring 2012; two writers will be invited for fall 2012 and two for spring 2013. Information about the first event in the series, a talk by Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, can be found at the Common Reader web site.

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