Manhattanville College Participates in African Conference on Word, Image & Power

Purchase, NY, March 18, 2016 –Though images of starving children or ferocious wild animals still linger in the public’s perception of Africa, they are no longer reflective of Africa’s breadth of industry and culture. African writers and artists have set out to rewrite Western views of the continent, which is experiencing steady economic growth, a rising middle class, and demands new perspectives. Manhattanville College together with The College of New Rochelle will present the conference “Word, Image and Power in Africa and the African Diaspora” to explore this emerging vision of Africa and the re-writing of Western views of Africa and the African diaspora (those who have emigrated to other countries bringing their culture with them) over two days in April.

Deeply committed to its mission of creating ethical and socially responsible citizens of a global world, Manhattanville College has partnered in this international conference with CNR to expose students and an audience of teachers and scholars to the expertise of faculty from Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Canada and the United States, and to share artistic work and scholarly research that reflects Africa’s largely unrecognized creative and resourceful heritage. Dr. Nada Halloway, chair of the English Department and one of the conference organizers, expects that the conference as a whole, with its diverse panels and artistic events, “will highlight the power of words and images to reconceptualize and redefine portrayals of Africa”.

This two-day conference will take place on Friday, April 1, 2016, at The College of New Rochelle (Mooney Hall) and on Saturday, April 2, 2016, at Manhattanville College (Brownson 106). For more information on the conference and how to register, please visit: http://www.mville.edu/word-image-and-power-africa-and-african-diaspora

Events at The College of New Rochelle on April 1 will include the panel discussions: Perspectives On Class and Gender in Diverse Contexts; Colonialism and Postcolonialism, Analysis of the Texts; Re-Framing and Re-Defining Conceptions of Africa; Visions of Africa in Cinema and Media; and Popular Culture in Africa and the Diaspora. The evening will end with a film screening of Tunisian director Sami Tlili, "Cursed Be the Phosphate" a documentary on workers in the Tunisian phosphate mining industry whose ‘revolution’ is credited with creating the actions that led to the Arab Spring.

Events at Manhattanville College on April 2 will include the panel discussions: Antigone and her Descendants; African Art: Between Tradition and Modernity; Plurality in the Age of Postmodernity; and Cosmopolitanism, the Black Atlantic, and the Diasporic Subject. The evening will conclude with a musical performance and reception featuring Malian Kora musician and storyteller Yacouba Sissoko.

This conference is sponsored by the Departments of English, World Languages and Literatures, Art History, Political Science, and the African Studies and International Studies Programs at Manhattanville College,the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and the International Studies Program at The College of New Rochelle, as well as the Westchester Consortium for International Studies (WCIS).