Faculty Showcase

Meredith Gadsby, associate professor of Africana studies and faculty liaison, Toni Morrison Society, attended a Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Toni Morrison at Lorain County Community College (LCCC) on November 6, 2019. Morrison, Nobel Prize Laureate, novelist, literary and cultural critic was honored for her profound contributions to the arts, culture, and the humanities. Keynote speaker Dr. Marilyn Sanders-Mobley, a founding member of the Toni Morrison Society, reminded guests of Morrison's brilliant explorations of human experience and most of all, her "profound love for Black people." LCCC students Jason Jordan and Toni McClinton expressed great pride in their research on Morrison, feeling deeply connected to her story of growing up in Lorain, Ohio.  A short documentary showed her commitment to elevating that history by embedding places from her hometown in her novels. Jewon Woo, associate professor of english at LCCC, guides her students through Morrison's work, leading their research on her representation of the intimate lives of Black communities in the Midwest. Professor Emerita Marilyn Valentino and Denise M. Douglas, dean of social sciences and human services, hosted a diverse audience that included members of Morrison's family. 

The Foreigner's Home, a film about Toni Morrison at the Louvre, directed by Associate Professor of Cinema Studies Rian Brown-Orso and Professor of Cinema Studies and English Geoff Pingree, was just released on Amazon Prime. The pair were also interviewed about the documentary by CAN Journal.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance Alice Blumenfeld presented a paper at Butoh Next, an international butoh symposium in New York City. The paper titled "A Butoh Approach to Flamenco" draws from her research with a Powers Travel Grant through Oberlin's internal grant program.