Tulane Reading Project to host campuswide discussion

Tulane University will host Kimberlé Crenshaw, professor of law at UCLA and Columbia and foundational scholar of critical race theory and intersectionality, on Monday, Sept. 25, at 6 p.m. in McAlister Auditorium. Her address is titled: “The intersectional paradigm: race and gender in work, life and politics.” The event is free and open to the public.

Crenshaw’s address is part of the Tulane Reading Project, which creates a shared intellectual experience for the entering first-year class through the reading and discussion of a selected book. The 2017 Reading Project selection is Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Between the World and Me is a letter to the author’s teenage son about the feelings, symbolism and realities associated with being black in the United States.

Newcomb-Tulane College, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Center for Academic Equity, Tulane Law School, the Center for Engaged Learning and Teaching, Newcomb College Institute, Howard-Tilton Library, New Orleans Center for the Gulf South, the Tulane Psychology Department, and the President’s Commission on Race and Diversity are co-sponsors of this year’s selection.

With a variety of events scheduled throughout the fall semester, the Reading Project creates a campuswide dialogue on a variety of themes. Crenshaw’s address is one of many events that are being held across campus as part of the Newcomb-Tulane College Reading Project. In August, faculty from both the uptown and downtown campuses led discussion groups during the first week of Fall Welcome on the day before classes began, thus giving first-year students the opportunity to engage with a faculty member even before their first college class.  

James MacLaren, dean of Newcomb-Tulane College, said the response to a call for faculty to facilitate group discussions on the Reading Project book was overwhelming.

“The faculty discussion group leaders were excited and enthusiastic both about the book and the opportunity to discuss the book with our new first-year students,” said MacLaren. “Feedback received from faculty was positive, and many commented on the thoughtful discussions they had with students.”

Throughout the fall semester, students will have opportunities to continue the conversations started during Fall Welcome discussion groups with faculty members by participating in optional discussion groups on a variety of topics related to Between the World and Me. To learn more about opportunities to engage with the Tulane Reading Project, visit the program’s Continue the Conversation page.