‘Shakespeare and American Integration’ Offers Take on UA’s History

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Language is the shared medium by which we explore our world, and the Hudson Strode Program in Renaissance Studies at The University of Alabama has come up with a novel way to talk about American integration.

“Shakespeare and American Integration: A Symposium” takes place Nov. 15-16, as part of “Through the Doors,” a commemoration of the 50^th anniversary of the integration of the University.

“I think we are able to offer a unique look at the integration of the campus, from a historic and current outlook,” said Dr. Sharon O’Dair, the director of the Strode Progam.

The symposium features a Friday concert by the Delfeayo Marsalis Octet at 7:30 p.m. at Moody Music Hall. The concert—and all other events at the symposium—are free and open to the public.

The schedule is as follows:

Friday, Nov. 15, Birmingham Room, Bryant Conference Center, UA campus:

1:30—2:45 pm:  Jason Demeter (George Washington University): “’The soul of a great white poet’: Shakespearean Educations in the Civil Rights Era”

3:00—4:15 pm:  Stephen Buhler (University of Nebraska): “The Duke Speaks Out: Integration and Appropriation in ‘Such Sweet Thunder and My People’ ”

Concert Hall at the Moody Music Building, UA School of Music, UA campus:

7:30 pm Delfeayo Marsalis Octet:  “Sweet Thunder: Duke and Shak”

Saturday, Nov. 16, Birmingham Room, Bryant Conference Center, UA campus:

9:00—10:15 am: Nigel Hatton (University of California, Merced): “‘To Thine Own Self’: James Baldwin on Shakespeare and the Integration of the English Language”

10:30—11:45 am: Delfeayo Marsalis (New Orleans, LA): “Sweet Thunder: Ellington, Shakespeare, and the Blues”

1:00—2:15 pm: Keith Miller and Erin McCarthy (Arizona State University):  “Othello’s Blackness after Malcolm X”

2:30—3:45 pm:  Ayanna Thompson (George Washington University): “Joseph Papp’s Color Blinding.”

4:00—5:15 pm:  ‪ ‪Joyce McDonald (University of Kentucky): “‘You’re all I need to get by’: Rehabilitating Romance in a Black ‘Taming of the Shrew.’ ”

The event is sponsored by the Hudson Strode Program in Renaissance Studies; the College of Arts and Sciences; the School of Music; the department of American studies; and New College.

“Through the Doors” is a year-long series of activities and events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of UA in 1963 and honoring the courage and dedication of the two African-American students who enrolled in the University on June 11, 1963, as well as the University’s ongoing commitment to change over the past 50 years and its commitment to continued progress in the future.

The Hudson Strode Program in Renaissance Studies is part of the College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships, Truman Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.