The annual service featuring the University Choir is one of Sewanee’s most cherished traditions. Because the global pandemic makes it impossible to gather this year in All Saints’ Chapel, this 40-minute digital version captures the spirit of the traditional service and shares some of the ways the university and its students successfully faced the challenges of a socially distanced semester.
Candice Delmas will present her central reasons for thinking that in the face of injustice, ordinary citizens have a moral obligation to resist injustice though acts of principled disobedience which are both civil and uncivil. Delmas is associate professor of philosophy and political science at Northeastern University, and is the associate director of the Politics, Philosophy, and Economics Program. She is the author of The Duty to Resist: When Disobedience Should Be Uncivil. (Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash)
DanceWise: Sensational is a dance concert produced by the Department of Theatre and Dance, with artistic direction by Associate Professor of Dance Courtney World. Student performances are featured in choreography by students, faculty, and guest choreographer Aaron Allen Jr. Sewanee students and employees only (maximum 35) in the theater; reservations required.
The Sewanee Debate Union meets to debate the proposition, "This House Believes the United States Should Act as the Predominant World Leader."
Speakers in Proposition: Reuben Brigety, vice-chancellor; Alexa Fults, C'21; Ben Shipp, C'22. Speakers in Opposition: Scott Wilson, assistant provost for global and strategic partnerships; Jared Williams, C'21; Kate Cheever, C'23. Audience members may watch remotely or reserve one of the limited seats in Convocation Hall. Both in-person and virtual audience members will have an opportunity to submit questions to the speakers. (Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash)
All are invited to this musical presentation of the music and songs of the labor movement and the IWW (Wobblies) in the early 20th century. Joe Hill was a songwriter and activist who was the precursor of Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and others. This acclaimed multimedia show consists of historic images, live music, and storytelling, followed by an audience discussion. Sponsored by a grant from Tennessee Arts Commission.
In today’s polarized environment, political conversations often turn angry and counterproductive. Join Braver Angels for a virtual workshop focused on Skills for Bridging the Divide, which will help us to listen and understand without arguing, build trust, clarify disagreements, and find common ground. Sign up in advance to receive a required short, interactive introduction to key concepts prior to the workshop. All are welcome: students, faculty, staff, and community members of all political identities! Hosted by the Dialogue Across Difference and Sewanee Votes! Programs of the Office of Civic Engagement.
The American Shakespeare Company, a vibrant and diverse group of actors hailing from Staunton, Virginia, will be on campus virtually this semester. On Oct. 16, a performance of Twelfth Night will be livestreamed to an audience at home or seated in Guerry Auditorium (limit 50). It will begin with live (streamed) music at 6:15, followed by the 6:30 p.m. performance from the Blackfriars Theatre in Staunton. A talk-back with the actors will follow about what it is to play Shakespeare in a time of pandemic.
Theatre Sewanee presents Moliere's farce, Scapin, at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14-17, with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. Oct. 18. The play—with scenes of comic deception and horseplay—involves the crafty Scapin, who promises to help two young men who have fallen in love with girls of unknown family identities. Audience size limited; reservations required.
The Sewanee Theatre Department presents a radio play written and directed by Dakota Collins, starring Emma Miller, Tristan Ketcham, and Jackson Harwell. Join us for the livestream premiere on YouTube on October 8. Submit your email here to get a link.
At the 30-year anniversary of German unity, Sewanee's events focus on the topic of “Immigration and Integration.” Schuster-Craig (Michigan State) will join us via Zoom and will introduce recent events and demonstrations in Germany. The interactive workshop will challenge us to engage with samples of media coverage, sharpening our media literacy as we investigate the underlying agendas of the specific media outlets and their commenters. Part of German Campus Weeks 2020, a series of events sponsored by a grant from the embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany. Sign up to attend in one of the campus spaces; also available via Zoom.
In an event similar to many of the harvest festivals traditionally celebrated in many parts of Asia, the campus community will gather to enjoy the full moon, mooncakes, and other treats.
The University Art Gallery presents This is Where I Live, a participatory photography project led by internationally acclaimed photographer Wendy Ewald. By means of a collection of approximately 400 photographs, This is Where I Live represents experiences and lives from 14 distinct communities in Israel and the West Bank. The webinar is part of the remote content for the exhibition, which will include exhibition spotlights, community slideshows, guest lectures, and more. Find the Zoom link on the UAG website.
Seniors Victoria Kunesch and Bailey Morrison present a program of vocal music about the long path to self-discovery. In partnership with the UWC and CAPS, the performance—from spirituals to musical theater to pop—is a musical journey in search of home, both in the world and within ourselves. With Dr. Zachary Zwahlen, piano. Online through Engage or Music at Sewanee Facebook event.
The Sewanee Student Theatre Board presents Lo Stronzo (translation: The “#%@*^#!”), a student-written, student-directed performance in the commedia dell’arte tradition. Slapstick, masks, double entendres, schemes, and disguises all culminate in a night of laughs. Audience is limited to 35 people. You must reserve a spot (Eventbrite) to attend. Wear your mask and bring a camping chair or blanket. Two nights: Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.
A community-wide dialogue with organic farmer, public intellectual, and community organizer Anthony Flaccavento. All members of the campus and the larger Sewanee and regional communities are invited to participate. Part of an ongoing forum on local and global food system challenges and solutions presented by the Office of Civic Engagement, the Integrated Program in the Environment, OESS, and the SE Tennessee Young Farmers.
Sewanee’s annual residency with the American Shakespeare Center continues with two performances and 10 classroom workshops this fall all live from Blackfriars Playhouse. This week: Othello. If truth has lost its meaning, how long can love survive? Evil is everywhere in Shakespeare’s great tragedy of racism and jealousy. A talkback with the actors from Othello centered around the themes of race and gender will follow. Attendance in person limited to 100. A link to the live performance is available for those who cannot be in the Quad.
An interfaith candlelight vigil will honor the life and legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In-person attendance limited to 50; the service will be streamed and overflow spaces will be available.
Minnijean Brown Trickey is one of the nine African American students who desegregated Little Rock Central High School in 1957, with protection from federal troops. She has been a teacher and advocate, served in the Clinton Administration, and was the Shipley Visiting Writer for Heritage Studies at Arkansas State University. Professional speaker and playwright Spirit Tawfiq is the founder of Roots of the Spirit, an organization created to uproot racism through storytelling, education, and the arts.
Elizabeth Outka, a former member of the Sewanee English Department and now a professor of English at the University of Richmond, will give a talk on Thursday, Sept. 10. “What Rough Beast? Rethinking Modernism through a Pandemic Lens” will draw on the W.B. Yeats poem “The Second Coming” to showcase the surprising ways interwar literature encoded the conditions of the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic. (Yeats photo: Chicago History Museum)
Join Coach Travis Rundle, Loring McDonald (Sewanee Votes/OCE), and Tija Odoms and Klarke Stricklen (Sewanee NAACP) for a panel discussion about creative resources Sewanee offers to help connect students to voting. Small groups will discuss what is motivating each of us to vote this fall. Bring your questions and make sure you're ready to vote in November! Sign up here for the link.
The final dialogue of the semester hosted by the Let's Talk Campaign will be about the environment and the way it impacts mental health. The dialogue will take place virtually on Zoom at 4 p.m. (CDT) Wednesday, April 22. All are welcome—students, faculty, staff, and community members. Sign up using this link.
Email Julian Wright, Nellie Fagan, or any member of the Let's Talk Campaign with questions.
Sewanee has been celebrating Earth Month with news and virtual events taking place all during April, including an online art gallery, webinars, and daily tips for caring for the environment.
We have a strong (and growing!) local food system in the South Cumberland area, and many of our local farms are run by women. Join us for a (virtual) conversation with some of the women who are feeding our community: Carolyn Hoagland (University Farm), Jessica Wilson (Intown Organics and Summerfields), and Caroline Thompson (Sewanee Dining and the South Cumberland Food Hub) will discuss their roles in our local food system, how gender affects their roles, and how the farming community has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Dialogue Across Difference Program offers virtual dialogues: Community in the Time of COVID-19. Faculty, staff, and students are invited to join two virtual dialogues April 14 and 16 focused on creating community even as we are apart. These facilitated dialogues offer a chance to share stories and reflect on ways to make meaning in this difficult time. Sign-up here for one or both and receive a Zoom link the day of the dialogue. Email Cassie Meyer (cmmeyer@sewanee.edu) or Mandy Tu (tump0@sewanee.edu) with questions.
Sewanee Career Readiness, Babson Center for Global Commerce, and Bairnwick Women’s Center present a panel discussion with alumnae in business. Sandy Baird, C'76, dental consultant, coach, and speaker; Erin Cassell, C'98, insight and analytics consultant, Campus Labs; Libby Malinowski, C'17, account executive, Bohan Advertising; Brittany McCall, C'10, senior producer, World 50; and Thabo Mubukwanu, C'15, consultant, Guidehouse LLP, will participate.
The Sewanee chapter of NAACP and the 213-A Leaders Program will host a screening of "Just Mercy," a recent film adaptation of Bryan Stevenson’s memoir "Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption." The following day, a panel will be in conversation about the themes explored in the movie and memoir. "Just Mercy" has been the University’s common book for the last two years.
Joelle Phillips, president of AT&T Tennessee, will be the Babson Center’s 2020 Graham Executive-in-Residence. Employing her rich liberal arts experience as a theatre major, Phillips easily navigates her many roles in a constantly evolving industry with studious curiosity and exploration. Join us to hear about the importance of continuous learning to overcome challenges.
Join students, faculty, staff, and community members to watch and discuss the next 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary Debate. DebateWatch events are an interactive way for attendees to hear what candidates have to say and form their own opinions—no talking heads or commentators. Following the debate, Professor Sean O'Rourke will moderate a discussion. All are welcome, regardless of political affiliation.
Some form of Carnival is celebrated all over the world, combining Christianity with pagan traditions indigenous to each region. This celebration goes by many names: Mardi Gras, Maslenitsa in Russia, Carnaval in Latin America, and Fasching in Germany, to name only a few. A progressive festival will start at the Russian House and continue on to the Spanish, German, and Italian Houses, before ending at the French House. Wear a fun costume and join in the food and fun! (Photo by Pascal Bernardon on Unsplash)
Kerry Ginger, mezzo soprano, and Zachary Zwahlen, piano, present an evening of vocal music. The program, Voice of Woman, features dynamic contemporary works by women that explore the power of the female voice—in song, in creating art, and in the broader cultural conversation.
The American Shakespeare Center returns to Sewanee in February for its annual campus residency. Thursday evening, Feb. 6, will feature the production of A Midsummer Night's Dream; Saturday evening, Feb. 8, will feature Imogen (ASC’s specially retitled Cymbeline). The celebration each night starts before the show when the actors perform live, unplugged music. While on campus, the troupe also will give a special performance for local school students and will engage with Sewanee students in theater workshops.
PUBLIQuartet is a New York City-based string quartet whose genre-bending programs range from 20th-century masterworks to newly commissioned pieces, alongside re-imaginations of classical works featuring improvisations that expand the idea of a traditional string quartet. PUBLIQuartet’s Grammy-nominated new album, Freedom and Faith, features artists whose music represents resilience, resistance, and subversion; all of them also happen to be women. Composers including Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald, Jessica Meyer, and Hildegard Von Bingen highlight the diversity and legacy of women in music over the last millennium.
Highlander Libraries is on view through April 8 in the University Art Gallery. This community-oriented project transforms the UAG to recall the Highlander Research and Education Center’s original library—a renowned meeting place for people working towards social, economic, and environmental justice—as it existed (as the Highlander Folk School) in nearby Summerfield from 1932 to 1961. Artist and project leader Greg Pond, and co-executive directors of the Highlander Research and Education Center, Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson and Rev. Allyn Maxfield-Steele, will speak about creative practice and social change. A reception will follow.
The University’s Winter Convocation will be held Friday, Jan. 17, to mark the opening of the spring semester. Honorary degrees will be presented—including to three distinguished alumni—and new members will be inducted into the Order of the Gown. The Rt. Rev. Phoebe Roaf, bishop of the Diocese of Western Tennessee, will give the Convocation address. Convocation will be streamed live for those who are unable to attend.
This fast-paced weekend (Jan. 10-11) for juniors and seniors features alumni and parents from a variety of career fields and areas of the country. It includes networking opportunities, resume reviews and practice interviews, business dining etiquette, career-specific panel discussions, and advice on life and work after Sewanee. This year's keynote speaker is Kristen Morrissey Theide, C’98, CEO of First Step Project.
