Austin Peay State University will host a three-day bell hooks educational symposium as part of the school’s ongoing effort to create an inclusive community and provide dynamic programs.
The event will be held from September 5-7.
bell hooks was the pen name for Hopkinsville native Gloria Jean Watkins, who was an author, educator, and activist known for deepening the public discourse surrounding race, feminism, and social class.
To honor her legacy, the symposium will feature comments and interaction with her family and friends, presentations from students she influenced, and a faculty panel discussion on her lasting impact.
The September 5 session will be at the Morgan University Center from 1-2:30 and be moderated by the Austin Peay Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance with the goal of creating a space to speak freely and share their works and interpretations.
The September 6 session will be at 416 College Street from 5:00 to 7:00 and will feature personal stories and a Q and A session with family and friends of bell hooks. Speakers will include hooks’s sisters Gwenda Watkins-Motley and Dr. Valerie Watkins, hooks’s longtime friend Francene Gilmer and human rights advocate Idalia Luna.
The September 7 session will be at the Wilbur N. Daniel African American Cultural Center from 1:00 to 2:30.
Eboné Amos, an assistant professor in the African American Studies Program, will moderate a faculty panel discussion on how studying bell hooks can impact the classroom and the community. Refreshments will be served.
