CSR Symposium on Religion & Race

The Center for the

Study of Religion presents

a Religious Studies Symposium

"After #Charlottesville: Where Do We Go From Here?"

featuring

Jalane Schmidt (University of Virginia)

• My research and teaching is focused upon African diaspora religions of the Caribbean and Latin America, and particularly festivity and ritual. I teach courses which consider the effects of colonization and the slave trade upon religious practice in the Americas. In my book project on 20th c. Cubans’ devotion to their patron saint, I examine religious, racial, and cultural hybridity in the Americas by interpreting the national expansion of this popular cult. In my emerging research, I am investigating how the history of slavery is performed in spirit possession rituals and expressed in material culture. Particularly, I am concerned with how contemporary mediums describe heightened sensory perception as a means for navigating traumatic emotional terrain.

 Grace Aheron (Charlottesville, VA)

• Grace Aheron is a Queer, multi-racial Southerner born and raised in Southwestern Virginia. She spent the last five years organizing and building community in Charlottesville, Virginia. Currently, she is a student at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. She is passionate about moving white people and faith communities into action against white supremacy. 

Activist and University of Virginia Professor Jalane Schmidt and organizer Grace Aheron will share their experiences as influencers in the efforts to organize resistance to the white supremacist Unite the Right Rally that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 11 and 12, 2017. Highlighted across international news outlets, August 11 and 12 were more than just two days, they were the result of centuries-long white supremacy building power in that town and across the nation. As part of the resistance efforts, Schmidt and Aheron will share lessons learned from organizing in Charlottesville, focusing on next steps for their communities and for the nation, particularly for communities of faith.

Event Recording Link: After #Charlottesville: Where Do We Go From Here? Symposium

Addional information for and directions to the Ohio State University Faculty Club can be found below:

• The Ohio State University Faculty Club
• Directions

Admission to this event is free and open to the public. For any questions, please contact (614) 688-8010.

Parking for this event is available at the Union South Garage, which can be accessed from High Street or from College Road S. Metered parking is also available along W. 11^th Avenue west of High Street, and on W. 12^th Avenue across from Hale Hall. Information about ADA accessible permits and parking can also be found here.