*Canceled* Places of My Past: Historical and Contemporary Stories of Rediscovering One’s Roots

James Baldwin famously said, “Know from whence you came. If you know whence you came, there are absolutely no limitations to where you can go.” This Dialogues seminar will feature speakers who will share stories of migration—both forced and voluntary—and then examine the ways that these families and communities built a home in their new land and also sought a reconnection with the place“from whence they came.” We will begin with the story of James Churchwill Vaughn (1828-93), who set out to fulfill his formerly enslaved father’s dying wish: that he should leave his home in South Carolina for a new life in Africa. Then we will examine the complex experiences of Arab Americans who travel to the Middle East to rediscover their roots through an exploration of music, literature, and cinema. A panel discussion on today’s diasporic communities in the United States will conclude the seminar.

TOPICS & SPEAKERS

A South Carolinian in Colonial Nigeria: One Family’s History and the African Diaspora
Lisa Lindsay, Bowman and Gordon Gray Distinguished Term Professor of History

Roots, Routes, and Reverse Diaspora: Stories from Arab America
Michael A. Figueroa, Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology

How are Diasporic Communities Connecting with their “Roots” and Putting Down New Roots in America?
A panel discussion with our speakers

TIME & TUITION