Roundtable Discussion
Friday, April 23, 2021 via Zoom (6:00-7:30 p.m. Central Time)
Please join us for a roundtable discussion led by University of Memphis scholars and alumni. This conversation will focus on key questions and ideas concerning politics and social justice in times of crisis as well as reflect upon issues raised within the symposium panels.
roundtable participants
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Dr. Earnestine Jenkins is Professor of Art History at the University of Memphis. Her research examines issues around race and representation across the African diaspora. In particular, Dr. Jenkin’s research focuses on the visual culture of slavery; the 19th century; the relationship between the arts, slavery, colonialism and empire; African American/Diaspora photographic cultures, African Diaspora cinema, Masculinity Studies, and the history of African Americans in the urban south. Dr. Jenkins’ most recent publication, Race, Representation and Photography in 19th Century Memphis: from Slavery to Jim Crow, was published by Ashgate Press in 2016. Her upcoming publication, Black Artists in America: from the Great Depression to Civil Rights, will coincide with a series of exhibitions held at the Dixon Galleries in Memphis, Tennessee.
Moderator:
Earnestine Jenkins, Ph.D.
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Professor of Art History, Department of Art, University of Memphis
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Michael Vicente Pérez is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Memphis. His scholarship has focused on the impact of long-term displacement on identity, livelihood, and everyday life among Palestinian refugees in Jordan. Dr. Pérez is currently conducting research in Chile with the Muslim community examining issues of authority, community, and friendship. He held the Human Rights seat for the American Anthropological Association between 2017-2020.
Michael Vicente
Pérez, Ph.D
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Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Memphis
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Dr. Chevannes is an Assistant Professor of Political Science. His research focuses, broadly, on Africana political theory, with an emphasis on Black liberatory politics. His research project lies at the intersection of Africana Studies, Deaf Studies, and Caribbean Studies. Specifically, his current scholarly project offers a renewed conception of political speech by theorizing how the communicative practices of Black and Deaf subjects contribute to an enriched understanding of the relationships of speech, subjectivity and liberation for the study of politics.
Derefe Kimarley Chevannes, Ph.D.
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Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Memphis
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Chantal Drake is the Director of Development and Communications at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens. She guides the Dixon’s fundraising, membership, and corporate partnership programs, as well as manages the public relations, marketing, and messaging for the museum and gardens. She also helps develop strategies to prioritize DEAI in museum programming, audience development, and governance for the Dixon. Prior to her current role, she worked as Director of Communications and Communications Associate for the Dixon, and Adjunct Professor at the Memphis College of Art. Chantal received her B.A. in Art History from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She earned her M.A. in Art History and a Museum Studies Certificate from the University of Memphis. Chantal is a 2019 alumnus of the Getty Leadership Institute and currently serves on the board of the Urban Art Commission.
Chantal Drake, M.A.
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Director of Development and Communications, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis
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Jody Stokes-Casey is a PhD candidate in art education and a recipient of the Illinois Distinguished Fellowship at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. She holds an MA in Art History and a certificate in museum studies from the University of Memphis and a BFA from the University of Tennessee at Martin. She is currently a co-instructor for the online MA in Art Education program at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and has several years of experience teaching art in K12 and museums. Her
current research focuses on a community organization in the Mississippi Delta which attempts to revitalize the rural town in which it is situated through arts education. The research asks how art education is used (or imagined to be used) to shape historical narratives. She has published in several journals including Art Education, Journal of American Studies, and Visual Arts Research.
Jody Stokes-Casey, M.A.
Ph.D. Candidate, Art Education, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
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