|
|
 Graphic by Marc Christensen, 1999 |
 |
The Fourth
Annual The World is Not America: |
 |
|
|
Graphic by Marc Christensen, 1999 |
|
The Fourth
Annual The World is Not America: |
|
| This year’s Y/X Conference,
held in the Student Center Building on Friday, March 25th, was again a great
success. In its fifth year, the annual Rushton Event afforded Wayne State
University undergraduate and graduate student scholars from disciples across
the university to present scholarly and creative works to an audience comprised
of their peers, faculty, and members of the community. This year’s
conference theme, “The World is Not America: (Re)membering Politics
and the Arts,” proved inspiring for the student participants as well
as for the graduate student moderators, the discussants, and the many audience
members. This year’s event featured presentations by thirty-five Wayne State students, representing many American Studies affiliated departments, including English, Anthropology, Political Science, and History. Students from other university departments participated as well. Student panels ran from 1:00 to 5:00, under such interesting titles as “Revolutions and the Revolutionary,” “Kiss My Politics,” and “The Conception of Freedom in Literature by Non-American Citizens.” Some noteworthy student papers were Kimberly Glidden’s “Paint it Black and Red: Stencil Graffiti and the Art of Resistence,” from the panel “Public Spaces,” Sarah Kubik’s “Detroit: Soul of a City Working Towards Philanthropy,” from the panel “Alienation,” and the group of participants from this year’s “creative” panel, Nidal Mahmeed, Mike Peter and Scott McNally, and Benn Ness. These presentations, among many others, showcased the high level of scholarship and critical and creative work produced by Wayne State students. This year one undergraduate student was awarded the Rushton Award for Excellence for the best student conference paper. The winner was Steve Tiseo for his paper “Reel History: Film’s Role in Refuting the American Myth.” The event concluded with a Keynote Address by WJLB radio DJ and rap artist MC Serch, which was held at the Bernath Auditorium at 5:30. Serch’s presentation, which was exciting, lively, and full of anecdotes from his experiences as a gold-record-selling rap artist and part of the group Third Bass, entertained and edified the audience. Serch’s insights into the intersections between art and politics concluded this year’s Y’X conference on a pertinent and resonant note. Conference participants, their families, Y/X committee members, and members of the Rushton family, who generously endow the annual conference, celebrated another year’s Y/X success at a reception at the Cass Café on Friday evening. We thank everyone who donated their time to make this fifth annual event a success and to the student presenters who continue to set a high standard for the conference. See you all next year! |
|
