African American Studies 22nd Annual Symposium on Philosophy & Culture BLACKER THAN THOU: AUTHENTICITY AND IDENTITY IN THE DIASPORA December 7-9, 2006 Purdue University - West Lafayette, Indiana The symposium will begin at 7:00pm on Thursday, December 7, 2006, with a keynote address by Dr. Michael Gomez, Chair and Professor of History at New York University and Director of the Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora (ASWAD). The lecture is entitled, "Perception and Reality: Diasporic Identities Through Time and Space," and will be held in Stewart Center 214 A&B. Dr. Gomez received his Ph.D. in African History from the University of Chicago and has held faculty positions at Washington University, Spelman College, and the University of George. His research interests include West Africa, the African Diaspora, Antebellum American South, Islam, and slavery. His most recent book is an edited volume, Diasporic Africa: A Reader (NYU P, 2006). He is also the author of Black Crescent: African Muslims in the Americas (Cambridge UP, 2005), Reversing Sail: A History of the African Diaspora (Cambridge UP, 2005), Exchanging Our Country Marks: The Transformation of African Identities in the Colonial and Antebellum South (UNC P, 1998), and Pragmatism in the Age of Jihad: The Precolonial State of Bundu (Cambridge UP, 1992). Dr. Gomez also has several articles in such journals as Journal of Black Studies, Radical History Review, Journal of Southern History, and Journal of African History among others. We are quite pleased to have Dr. Gomez serve as our keynote speaker. In addition to the keynote address, there will be several panel discussions on such topics as: configuring blackness in specific geographic regions, identity formation, and interrogating blackness. All symposium events will be held in the Stewart Center. Schedule and registration information is available on our website; however Purdue University faculty, staff, and students may attend all events free of charge with the exception of Friday's luncheon and reception. Please contact the main office regarding discounted registration for the luncheon and reception. October 6th is the deadline for early bird registration and December 1st is the deadline for pre-registrations. Those who register on-site will not be guaranteed a meal for Friday's luncheon. <<back