Interweaving History, Public Humanities and Memory Work
October 10, 2023 | 4-5:30 p.m.
Hale Hall | MLK Lounge
154 W. 12th Ave. | Columbus, Ohio 43210
In this talk, Dr. Garcia-Medina explores the often erased and ignored experiences of AfroLatinidad in the United States. Participants will be partaking in some writing workshops highlighting their own experiences often being ignored in the culture industry, their K-12 experiences and society overall. Some questions to ask ourselves are the following: What is lost when we acculturate to traditional standards of identities in the United States? How do we approach transnationalism as a category of analysis? What could be some advantages/disadvantages of being misunderstood and/or deemed illegible? How can Blackness, Latinidad and AfroLatinidad be interwoven in K-12 education in the United States?
Garcia-Medina will highlight the different ways that online tours can be used in classrooms via an educational website and app called The Clio. In this sense, traditional understandings of education and pedagogy need to be challenged by considering the importance of public humanities. Meaning, the sake of the Humanities depends on communal engagement and public access related to communities beyond a Black-white binary. Furthermore, Garcia-Medina will be sharing and evaluating curriculums written for the afrolatino forum and the Dallas Museum of Art which are tied to particular histories of Blackness beyond the British dimension. As educators, we should pose these questions to ourselves: What happens when we limit Black history in the United to the British dimension? What is at stake when Black immigrant histories are nowhere to be often found within K-12 curriculums? The idea is to create a space where multiple Black identities and stories can thrive especially when they are intertwined and multifaceted.
These curricula emphasize the importance of documenting, preserving, and sharing stories that are often erased, and explores the roles that writing, art, and museums as well as schools can play in these processes. In doing so, this curriculum aims to equip students of these courses with tools to address their concern for human rights for all. There will also be time for Q&A.
Garcia-Medina will end his talk by discussing memory work and what is at stake when we do not approach Blackness and Latinidad from multiple dimensions.
About Dr. William Garcia-Medina
Dr. García-Medina is currently a Charles Phelps Taft Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Cincinnati. His research focuses on Black diasporic public humanities, AfroLatinx education, cultural studies, and museum studies. García-Medina has provided educational consulting, training, and workshops for numerous organizations, universities, school districts, and museums. He's taught courses in Latino Studies, American Studies, and Black Studies and has published in these fields in academic journals, blogs, and podcasts. García-Medina has contributed to Latino Rebels since 2015 and has been a guest on national broadcast radio such as Latino USA and NPR. He tweets from @afrolatinoed.
Need accommodations or more information?
If you need more information or have a disability and require accommodations to fully participate in this activity, please send an email to Johana Coronado at coronado.22@osu.edu. You will be contacted by someone from our staff to discuss your specific needs.