Forum to Explore Media, Race

Discussion, dance and music will help participants in a special forum investigate how media represent race and the implications of that portrayal.

“Moving the Center: Geographies of Interracial Identity in the Media and the Arts” will take place Feb. 12 and 13 on campus.

The forum will open Feb. 12 with a performance of “Ki-Ache: Stories from the Belly,” by Peggy Myo-Young Choy of the UW–Madison Dance Program. Choy says the piece will offer a glimpse into the lives of several African and Asian women, including a Korean entertainer, an African queen, a Black Panther member and a Korean labor organizer. The performance will begin at 8 p.m. in Old Music Hall.

The Feb. 13 forum will focus on different print media. Activities will commence at 1 p.m. with an exploration of “Race, Racial Ideology and the News.” A lecture by James Moy, UW–Madison professor of theatre and drama, will follow the panel. “Mapping Anglo-American Constructions of Asian Sexuality” will trace the experiences of an African-American man who placed a personal ad as an Asian woman. UW–Madison anthropologist Kirin Narayan will conclude the forum, discussing “What are YOU? ABCD or DCBA?”, which will include excerpts from her novel-in-progress, Husbands as Foreigners.

The forum will take place in the Memorial Union; check Today in the Union for rooms.

A lecture/demonstration by Fred Ho and the Afro-Asian Trio will conclude activities Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. in Union South. Ho will address the role of music in African-Asian relations.

The performances and forum will be free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Asian American Studies program, 263-2976.