Humanities

Mark Mathabane spent his childhood living under apartheid in South Africa. But, unlike many, he was able to escape the devastating poverty and violence of a Johannesburg ghetto through the help of 1972 Wimbledon champion Stan Smith and a tennis scholarship to South Carolina\'s Limestone College. Read More

Leading thinkers on tricky topics of global justice will speak during a Tuesday afternoon series at Vanderbilt University, and the public is invited to participate. Read More

Rigoberta Menchu, a Mayan Indian from Guatemala internationally recognized for her work for social justice and cultural reconciliation for indigenous people, will speak at Vanderbilt University on Thursday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. at Benton Chapel on Vanderbilt University\'s campus. Read More

Three years ago, Vanderbilt University ethnomusicologist Greg Barz realized that American popular culture was sweeping Africa and could very well threaten centuries-old musical traditions. Read More

Films from 14 countries will be screened for free during a foreign film series at Vanderbilt University running each Wednesday evening until April 16 except for spring break. Two bonus screenings will occur on Mondays. Read More

Voters should welcome an increase in political attack ads on the airwaves as the presidential nominating process moves into overdrive, says Vanderbilt University political scientist John Geer. Read More

A series of musical performances, panel discussions, the release of a double CD of religious music and a conference to sum it all up will mark a semester-long investigation of "God in Music City" at Vanderbilt University. Read More

President Bush has nominated Carol M. Swain, Vanderbilt professor of political science and law, to the National Council on the Humanities, the White House announced. The appointment, subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate, is for a six-year term. Read More

Actor, singer and activist Harry Belafonte will kick off Vanderbilt University\'s 2008 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Series with a 6 p.m. lecture Monday, Jan. 14, at the Student Life Center. Read More

Programs promoting home ownership, business development and bilingual skills within the Middle Tennessee Hispanic community will be recognized Dec. 10 during Conexion Americas‘ "Celebration of Achievements" at Vanderbilt University. The Center for the Americas at Vanderbilt will sponsor and host the event. Read More

A professor from Vanderbilt‘s Blair School of Music was nominated for a Grammy on Thursday. Greg Barz, associate professor of ethnomusicology at Blair, is nominated in the Best Traditional World Music Album category for his album Singing for Life: Songs of Hope, Healing, and HIV/AIDS in Uganda. Read More

Property rights play a pivotal role in fashioning American constitutional order. New research by renowned legal historian and Vanderbilt professor of law and history James W. Ely Jr. traces the historical relationship between private property ownership and political liberty. Read More

Watch video of Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning playwright Edward Albee speaking at Vanderbilt Nov. 27. The event was part of the Chancellor's Lecture Series. Read More

The co-writer of the autobiography of Ray Charles, along with the director of the Nashville Jazz Orchestra and Charles‘ longtime saxophonist, will discuss the late music great during "SoBro Sessions: Remembering Brother Ray" at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on Friday, November 30. Read More

Playwright Edward Albee, a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner and three-time Tony Award recipient, will address "The State of Theater and the Arts in America" on Tuesday, Nov. 27, at Ingram Hall at the Blair School of Music on the Vanderbilt University campus. Read More

Vanderbilt University kicks off its International Education Week events Sunday, Nov. 11. The week ñ officially celebrated this year Nov. 12-16 ñ is an annual initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education to recognize the global exchange environment between the United States and other countries. All events are free and open to the public. Read More

In gentrifying neighborhoods there are typically clashes between racial and ethnic groups, the "haves" and "have-nots," homeowners and apartment dwellers and newcomers and longtime residents. However, a new book by Northwestern University professor Mary Pattillo explores the story with a twist. Read More

Twenty-five Chinese principals and educational administrators are in Nashville Oct. 30 - Nov. 9 as part of an ongoing exchange between Vanderbilt University‘s Peabody College, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools and South China Normal University. Read More

Seeking retribution for being overthrown and exiled to a magical island with his daughter Miranda, Prospero magically causes a storm ñ a tempest ñ to wreck the ship of those responsible for his situation and bring them to the island for vengeance. The Tempest premieres at Neely Auditorium at Vanderbilt on Nov. 8. Read More

Two film screenings at Vanderbilt University will revisit school desegregation‘s history Monday, Nov. 5, and Monday,Nov. 12. √± including the little-known story of 12 students who integrated Clinton (Tenn.) High School, the first public high school to be integrated in the South. Read More