UA Social Work Guest Lecturer to Discuss Suicide, Race

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Dr. Sean Joe, a nationally-recognized authority on suicidal behavior among African Americans, will present a lecture, “American Suicide: Examining the Social Lives of Suicidal Black Males,” Nov. 11 at The University of Alabama School of Social Work.

Joe’s talk is part of the School of Social Work’s Colloquium Series that brings speakers to campus to share expertise with UA faculty, staff, students and guests. The lecture begins at noon in room 104 of Little Hall.

Joe holds a joint position as associate professor in the School of Social Work and in the department of psychiatry at the University of Michigan’s School of Medicine.  His research interests focus on the role of religion in black suicidal behavior, salivary biomarker discovery for adolescent suicidal behavior, and developing father-focused, family-based interventions to prevent urban African-American adolescent males from engaging in multiple forms of self-destructive behaviors, including suicidal behavior.

Joe is the director of the Emerging Scholars Interdisciplinary Network and co-chairs its research study group on African-American Suicide. He also has significant interest in theoretical and methodological issues related to community level intervention research to address disparities, healthy masculinity and positive youth development.

The lecture is free and open to the University community and the general public. Social work continuing education units will be available.

For more information, contact Sandy Wilson in the UA School of Social Work at swilson@sw.ua.edu or 205/348-3924.