The Walla Walla University Donald Blake Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture will host its first annual academic conference on the university campus. The event, which runs from April 20-21, will cover topics of race and culture through a panel discussion, keynote address, and academic paper presentations.

The inaugural conference kicks off with a panel forum in the Administration Building at 4 p.m. on April 20. The panel is comprised of three professors from across the nation, including Timothy Golden, professor of philosophy at WWU. “The session will emphasize the significance of the historical moment of this conference as it relates to Adventists and their discussion of race,” Golden said.

George Yancy, professor of philosophy at Emory University, will give the keynote address in the Melvin K. West Fine Arts Center Auditorium at 7 p.m. on April 20. Yancy has authored and edited numerous books on the topic of racism, including his upcoming release, “On Race: 34 Conversations in a Time of Crisis,” which examines race, gender, immigration, and neo-liberalism through a series of philosophical conversations.

“Yancy’s reputation precedes him as a leading academic on the issue of race and racial embodiment,” Golden said. “He was an ideal speaker for our first conference given his emphasis on his philosophical work on race and racism.”

The conference encourages collaboration and thoughtfulness, and a variety of academic papers have been selected to demonstrate broad points of view about race and racism in today’s culture. The papers will be presented in one-hour sessions on the morning of April 21.

The cost of the event is $25 for students and $75 for faculty and community members. Registration can be completed at wallawalla.edu/DBC-conference until April 19.

Posted April 11, 2017