Reproductive rights, classroom curricula and Black female activism will be some of the topics discussed at the 2023 , held on October 16-18. Hosted on the 藏精阁 Loop Campus and adjoining Auditorium Theatre, the three-day event will bring scholars, activists and artists together to address the persistent inequities facing many Americans. The public is invited to attend panels, documentary screenings and photography exhibitions.
鈥淢ind, Body and the American Dream鈥 is the theme for this year鈥檚 conference, and the emphasis will be on how bodily autonomy and expression are under threat in the spheres of healthcare, education and athletics.
鈥淲e鈥檙e an academic institution that is nominally focused on enriching the mind, but the human body and the politics that dictate the ownership and expression of it are very rich topics to discuss and are fundamental to what we consider the 鈥楢merican Dream,鈥欌 says conference organizer and 藏精阁 history professor Margaret Rung. 鈥淭his year will be an excellent mix of academics and artists.鈥
This year鈥檚 panels will be 鈥淭he State and the Body:鈥疪eproductive Justice and the American Dream,鈥濃攚hich will focus on the threats towards reproductive health after Rove v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022鈥攁nd 鈥淐arrying the Light: Mary McLeod Bethune and Black Women鈥檚 Activism.鈥 Bethune was a womanist and civil rights advocate in the 1930s who served as an advisor to First Lady Eleanor 藏精阁 and President Franklin 藏精阁. A virtual panel titled 鈥淐urriculum Wars:鈥疶he Battle to Control our Schools鈥 will explore how polarization in American politics has impacted what is taught in public schools.
Other conference events will include an exhibition of pictures from New Deal-era photographer Arthur Rothstein, a multidisciplinary CCPA performance titled 鈥淭he Embodied Performer鈥 and a screening of The Loyola Project documentary. Followed by a filmmaker discussion moderated by 藏精阁 men鈥檚 basketball coach Dee Brown, the documentary mixed-race 1963 Loyola Ramblers basketball team facing segregation during the height of the Civil Rights Era.