Lecture Review

GOALS

By completing this assignment you will:

  • Attend a lecture related to the topic of our course that takes place outside of our class meetings;
  • Write a compelling and concise reflection in which you summarize the content of the lecture and make connections between the event and the class materials, concepts, ideas, arguments, and/or issues.
  • Work on the following FWIL goals:
    • Information Literacy
    • Rhetorical Discernment
    • Critical Reading

TASKS

To complete this assignment you should:

FIRST: Attend one of the following lectures connected to the “Spirited Things” exhibition:

  • October 19, 5-6:30 PM @ Waterman 413
    TALK: Power Objects: Charging and Discharging in Afro-Caribbean Religion, Dr. Elizabeth McAlister, Professor of Religion & African American Studies, Wesleyan University
  • October 25, 6:00 PM @ Fleming Museum
    TALK: Why Do the Gods Let This Happen? Vodou in the 21st Century with Donald J. Cosentino, Professor Emeritus of World Arts and Cultures at the University of California-Los Angeles
  • November 1, 12:00 PM @ Fleming Museum
    TALK: When the Spirit Moves Me: Music and Religion from Africa to the Americas with Jacob Edgar, Ethnomusicologist and Music Producer
  • November 15, 6:00 PM @ Fleming Museum
    TALK: Thrones of the Gods and Altars of the Soul with Daniel Rodríguez, Obá-Oriaté of the Santería Religion
  • November 28, 5pm @ Memorial Lounge, Waterman
    TALK: The Materiality of Spirit Incorporation in Brazilian Candomblé Dr. Paul C. Johnson, Professor, Department of History and Department of Afroamerican and African Studies, University of Michigan

Be sure to take notes on the lecture/event so that you can refer back to specific ideas discussed or things that happened during the event.

SECOND: Write a short reflection on the lecture and how it connects to our class ideas, concepts, discussions, and other materials. In your reflection you should:

  • Introduce the speaker: Who is s/he and why were they invited to speak in connection to the exhibition? (If this isn’t made clear when the speaker is introduced, then you will need to figure this out on your own!)
  • Briefly—in no more than a paragraph—summarize the content of their lecture: What are they speaking about? What was their main point? Why did they think it was important to discuss?
  • The bulk of your reflection should make connections between the content of the lecture and the concepts that we have been discussing in class (i.e. diaspora, syncretism/hybridity, altars) or the arguments about the Black Atlantic religions (Yoruba oriṣa, Haitian vodou, Cuban Santeria/Regla de Ocha, Brazilian Candomblé) that we have read about for this class.
  • At the same time, your reflection should constitute a critical review of the lecture and help to define your personal stance towards the issues raised by the speaker: Why was it worth attending? What did you get out of it? Do you have any questions or responses to what the speaker had to say?

REQUIREMENTS:

  • Your reflection should be 500-750 words and should be written so that a member of the public who has visited the “Spirited Things” exhibition at the Fleming Museum would be able to understand how the lecture was connected to the exhibition.
  • You must refer to at least one of the class readings in your reflection. Do not assume that your reader is a member of our class or familiar with the class texts; instead contextualize your references to the texts so that the reader gets a good sense of what they have to say.
  • You must include page number references and a bibliography at the end of the reflection for each reading that you refer to.
  • Be sure to include a title for your reflection that clearly and compellingly captures your stance towards the lecture.
  • Post your reflection to the blog no more than one week after the lecture you attended occurred.