A Student Trip

 

Last week, thanks to the generosity of North Harris's Student Engagement Fund, Professor Martin and I took a group of students to the 8th annual African American Studies Symposium at the University of Texas at San Antonio.  In two vans, 10 of us excitedly headed from Northern Houston over to San Antonio to spend all day at this conference.  Though our group viewed the program schedule ahead of our trip, we were in for quite a treat.

This year's symposium was titled, "Make Some Noise: Pushing Back, Acting Out, and Speaking Up." Keynote speaker Nikki Giovanni delivered an address that detailed her strategies and thoughts on poetry, activism, her experiences, and so much more.  The presenters and performers during the rest of the day-long event offered their insights in wide ranging fields in African American Studies, including literature, sociology, history, and women's and gender studies.

What is remarkable about this conference is that the planners deviate from the style of a typical (academic) conference by incorporating dynamic performances by singers, dancers, and poets.  Additionally, the more traditional panels cover a range of informative and thought-provoking topics, which our North Harris students will examine in upcoming blog entries.  Add Nikki Giovanni to that mix and you have a unique space where performance, creativity, activism, and academics meet.

During our time there, I had the pleasure of talking with one founder of the annual symposium, Professor Joycelyn Moody.  I commented to Moody that every year, the conference organizers go above and beyond expectations of an academic conference in their commitment to provide a space for students, faculty, staff, and community members to come together to explore important topics in African American Studies.  

Too often, conferences in academia (at least in literary studies) adhere to an age-old standard when it comes to planning: scholars read directly from their papers - and often take up more than their allotted time -in a stuffy environment where those new to academic conferences feel bored or out of their depth.  Thankfully, the AASS creates an opportunity for student-scholars like our group from North Harris to push back, act out, and speak up.

North Harris student Jasmaine Adams speaks up by posing a question to keynote speaker Nikki Giovanni