Schedule

7 p.m., Council Chamber, Fowler Student Center
Keynote Event

The Apocalypse Is Not Coming: Afrofuturism vs. the Climate Crisis
Aya de León, award-winning writer, advocate, and speaker whose work is at the intersection of social identity and climate justice 

Presentation abstract: Rumors of the apocalypse are a form of disinformation. How can Afrofuturism, Indigenous rights, and other frameworks help us here and now in the fight to save our planet?

• American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be provided. For additional information about accessibility, please consult the Event Details page.
• No registration is required.
• Book signing and reception to follow in the Council Chamber foyer. The speaker’s books will be available for purchase.

9:45–11:15 a.m., Council Chamber, Fowler Student Center
Visions of a Future Portland

Moderator: Reiko Hillyer, L&C associate professor of history and director of ethnic studies
JT Flowers, development and communications, Albina Vision Trust
Alisa Kajikawa, community development manager, Jade District, APANO Communities United Fund
Additional presenters are being confirmed.

 

11:45 a.m.–1 p.m., Council Chamber, Fowler Student Center
Race Across Disciplinary Boundaries: Student Research Showcase

Moderator: Mithila Tambe, L&C ’25 and RWS co-chair
Alina Cruz, L&C ’25, art history, “The Real Vearth: Indigenous Identity and Resistance in the Skypiea Arc of One Piece”
Bantfu Dlamini L&C ’26, sociology/anthropology, “Beyond Polarity: The Inhibitions of a Post-Racial Society”
Azucena Morales Santos, L&C ’24 and former RWS co-chair, Hispanic studies and sociology/anthropology double major, “Indigenous Children: Lived Experiences in a Multilingual Household”
Lucinda Law, L&C ’24 and RWS co-chair, “Whitexicans: Colorism, Classism, and Anti-indigeneity in Gen-Z Mexico”

 

1:45–3 p.m., Council Chamber, Fowler Student Center
Virtual Selves: Race, Ethnicity, and Labor in the Rise of AI

A conversation featuring Diana Leonard, L&C associate professor of psychology; Joel Martinez, L&C associate professor of philosophy; and Mitch Reyes, L&C professor of rhetoric and media studies.

Panel description: Questions of labor and identity in the digital age are pressing and fraught while also tying back to ancient ideas of self and/in society. Who is granted personhood, and what rights and responsibilities does that status confer? Can we truly get free through the exploitation of others’ labor? What is a “purpose-driven life” and how can we find meaning decoupled from capitalism-sanctioned productivity? This conversation will invite attendees to actively engage with these questions through the lens of Indigenous philosophy, social cognition, and speculative fiction (i.e., solar punk and afrofuturism).

 

3:30–5 p.m. and 4:30–6 p.m., Fowler Student Center
Community Dialogues: Making the Change You Want to See in the World

How do you seek to bring about change for the better in your community and/or the larger world? What actions–large or small–do you take to promote your values and reimagine the future? Community Dialogues offer an opportunity for small, structured conversation as we explore our various approaches and values. 

• Registration is required for either time slot (3:30-5 pm or 4:30-6 pm).
• Limited to L&C students, faculty, and staff.
• Meeting location and additional details will be shared with participants via registration confirmation email.

 

3:30-4:30 p.m., Grad Campus or Zoom
Art for Social Change Open Studio

This open studio focuses on exploring social, racial, or political current events, with participants creating art and engaging on dialogue about their impact on our communities–and working together toward social change. In partnership with the L&C Art Therapy graduate program.

• Registration is required for in-person attendance or Zoom participation.
• In-person participation is restricted to L&C students, faculty, and staff from all three campuses, but anyone is welcome to participate in the session via Zoom.

 

7 p.m., Council Chamber, Fowler Student Center
Keynote Event

Preparing for Afrotopia
Ingrid LaFleur, Afrofuturist and cultural advisor who pursues equity through art, culture, and emerging technology

Presentation abstract: How do we prepare for a collective future if anti-Blackness continues to haunt us? How do we trust the future vision being created? What tools do we need to not only anticipate the future also shift its direction? These are the questions central to Ingrid LaFleur’s current research and justice-oriented experimentation. Her futures research practice is founded on the belief that the root of social change begins with an individual’s perspective on the future. LaFleur is currently developing a technique called the Dinkinesh method to help shift the perspective. The purpose of the Dinkinesh method is to develop afrofuture consciousness using myth science, speculative storytelling, and political thought derived from the minds of African descendants. For her keynote, LaFleur will journey the nonlinear pathways to achieving decolonized futures and discuss the steps to building an afrofuture that serves humanity and their ecological home.

• American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be provided. For additional information about accessibility, please consult the Event Details page.
• No registration is required.
• Reception to follow in the Council Chamber foyer.

11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., Watzek Library 245
Presentation by and conversation with Grace Dillon

Grace Dillon is a professor in the Indigenous Nations Studies program at Portland State University and is known for establishing the idea of Indigenous Futurisms. She is the editor of Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction (2012). Coffee and cookies will be served.

 

1:50–2:50 p.m., Fir Acres Black Box Theatre
Staged Reading

Organized in collaboration with Students for Cultural Inclusion in the Theatre (SCIT).
We regret that this event has been canceled.

 

3:30–4:30 p.m., Watzek Library atrium
Art Exhibit Reception

Please join us in celebrating this year’s symposium art exhibit. Light refreshments.

7 p.m., Agnes Flanagan Chapel
Race Monologues

Each year a different group of L&C students writes an original series of personal narratives to share their feelings, experiences, and understandings of race, ethnicity, and identity. We invite you to learn more about the history of Race Monologues.

Content warning: Please note that these monologues discuss a range of sensitive and charged topics, including sexual assault, explicit impact of racist laws, the bombing of Palestine, and police brutality.

Featuring L&C students Elie Al Khoury ’26, Índigo Araya Rodríguez ’24, Jazmín Contreras ’26, Alina Cruz ’25, Diego Flores ’26, Marzieh Ghaderi ’24, Anna Kwett ’26, Eliel Martínez ’26, TJ Muhammad ’26, Judith Segovia ’25, Mari Sheppard ’25, Sophia Stringer ’24, Rocío Yao ’24, and Asmaa Zaidan ’24 (in alpha order).

Coordinated by L&C students Diego Flores ’26, Aylén Martínez ’26, and Judith Segovia ’25.

Doors open at 6:40 p.m. First-come seating. Doors will be closed at 7 p.m. or when we reach full capacity, and latecomers will not be admitted. Reception to follow in Gregg Pavilion.