WFU to host conference on ‘Movement and Migrations’

On October 18-19, Wake Forest will host Movements and Migrations: A Conference on the Engaged Humanities. The event is sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

“Movements and Migrations” will explore the implications and applications of the humanities in public contexts, with special emphasis on migration and population dislocation caused by global climate change.

The conference builds on innovative classes taught by Wake Forest humanities faculty. These include Mellon-funded engaged humanities courses on refugee resettlement in the Triad, waterways and landscapes, and American indigenous history. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation recently awarded Wake Forest an $850,000 grant to expand its community-based partnerships through engaged teaching and research in the humanities.

Rutgers anthropology professor Yarimar Bonilla will deliver the opening keynote speech. She is the author of ”Shattered Futures,” which examines the politics of recovery in Puerto Rico after hurricane Maria and the forms of political and social trauma that it revealed.

Michigan State philosophy professor Kyle Powys Whyte, a leading authority on climate policy and its effects on native peoples, will close the conference with his talk.

The documentary film, “Water like Stone,” will be screened in Benson University Center’s Pugh Auditorium at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18. Following the screening, Christian studies professor Michael Pasquire from Louisiana State University will lead a discussion on this documentary about coastal Louisiana communities responding to the destruction of a way of life due to climate change.

A detailed schedule is available here. The conference events are free, but registration is encouraged.