KINGSTON, R.I. – September 28, 2018 — Whether writing about racism, intimacy or alienation, Claudia Rankine’s insight and candor contribute to a body of work considered among the most thoughtful to emerge in recent years. She will discuss “Contemporary Black Women Artists: Intertextuality and Counter-narratives” on Tuesday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. on the University of Rhode Island’s Kingston Campus. Her lecture is part of a series scheduled for each Tuesday evening through Dec. 4, as part of the University’s 2018 Honors Colloquium on Reimagining Gender: Voices, Power, Action. The series is free and open to the public and will take place in Edwards Hall, 64 Upper College Road.

Rankine’s bestselling and award-winning book, a book-length poem entitled, Citizen: An American Lyric, explores what it means to be an American in a “post-racial” society. Considered a defining text for our time, Citizen examines everyday encounters with racism, written in the second person, engaging readers in the narrative haunted by the deaths of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin and Renisha McBride. Citizen is the only poetry book to become a New York Times bestseller in nonfiction.

The Judges Citation for the Jackson Poetry Prize–which Rankine won in 2014–notes, “The moral vision of Claudia Rankine’s poetry is astounding. It is a body of work that pushes the boundaries…Rankine has managed to make space for meditation and vigorous debate upon some of the most relevant and troubling social themes of the 20^th and 21^st centuries.” Rankine is also the playwright of The White Card, a meticulously crafted story that raises uncomfortable questions and illustrates the ways in which racism manifests itself in everyday situations while exploring the concept of “whiteness.” She is the Frederick Iseman Professor of Poetry at Yale University and is a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.

Reimagining Gender: Voices, Power, Action will explore, at this pivotal time in society, the relevance of gender in shaping human rights and how our rising consciousness about gender issues is leading to vibrant social discussions, rearrangements of power and perceptions, and new possibilities. The series includes lectures, exhibits, a theater production and a film screening, all intended to help demonstrate the significant impact of women in society and to deepen the conversation about gender roles and stereotypes and the impact they have on our actions.

Coordinators of the 2018 colloquium, marking its 55^th year, are Rosario Pisa, professor and director of URI’s Gender and Women’s Studies program; Kyle Kusz, associate professor of kinesiology; Helen Mederer, professor and chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology; and, Smita Ramnarain, assistant professor of economics.

MAJOR Sponsor URI Honors Program

Sponsors URI Office of the President • URI Office of the Provost • The Mark and Donna Ross Honors Colloquium Humanities Endowment • The Thomas Silvia and Shannon Chandley Honors Colloquium Endowment • URI College of Arts and Sciences • URI College of Arts and Sciences Kenneth and Susan Kermes Distinguished Lecture Endowment • URI College of Pharmacy • URI John Hazen White Sr. Center for Ethics and Public Service • URI Gender and Women’s Studies Program • URI Office of Community, Equity and Diversity • URI Theatre Department • URI College of Engineering • URI College of the Environment and Life Sciences • URI College of Health Sciences • URI College of Business • URI College of Nursing • URI Division of Student Affairs • URI Department of Communications and Marketing • URI Department of Publications and Creative Services • URI ITS Instructional Technology and Media Services • URI Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Education and Professional Studies • URI Department of Computer Science and Statistics • URI Department of Economics • URI Department of English • URI Department of Sociology and Anthropology • URI Gender and Sexuality Center • URI Multicultural Student Services Center • URI Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Science.