Ray Warren Symposium on Race and Ethnic Studies

20th Annual Ray Warren Symposium on Race and Ethnic Studies
Future Forward
November 8–10, 2023

Thank you to everyone who attended and participated in this year’s Ray Warren Symposium on Race and Ethnic Studies! We will update this page in the spring to share information about the 21st annual symposium in November 2024.

Studying our history provides more than an insight into the past. It also helps us navigate the present and shape a future, too. As we celebrate the 20th year of the Ray Warren Symposium on Race and Ethnic Studies, we consider not only how we arrived here but also this vital question: what lies ahead?

This year’s symposium revolves around reimagining society to build a liberating and just future. Inspired by Afrofuturism and BIPOC traditions of speculation and imagination, we explore what it means to integrate BIPOC futurism(s) into the world we create, whether fantastical or real. We hope to generate conversations that invite a reimagining of our futures, free from hegemonic and oppressive realities.

What defines BIPOC futurism as an idea, aesthetic, and framework? How are utopian and/or dystopian futures expressed in literature, art, music, media, and technology? In what ways do urban planning, public policy, and decolonial movements for social justice articulate and manifest these visions of a world to come?

Learn about the 2023 symposium keynote speakers, art show, event schedule, and more.

2023-24 student co-chairs:

Lucinda Law ’24 and Mithila Tambe ’25

  • I applied for the Ray Warren Symposium cochair position because I wanted to give back and contribute to the one initiative, community, and space on campus that has made me feel the most seen and heard in all my time here.

    Mithila Tambe BA ’25
    Art History | Pune, Maharashtra, India
    More about Mithila
  • At my first symposium, I was so inspired to see other students of color work and coordinate such a transformative event, and I knew following the first keynote speech I wanted to become more involved.

    Lucinda Law BA ’24
    Economics | Latin American and Latino Studies; Hispanic Studies (double) | Chico, California
    More about Lucinda
  • Five 

    L&C’s five academic student-led symposia reflect our commitment to inquiry, innovation, collaboration, and global engagement.