Common Book Keynote Address
Common Book Keynote Address
Wednesday, October 23 | 6 p.m. | Singleton Center (922 Park Ave.)
The flagship event for the Common Book each year is our author keynote address! This event is free and open to all students, faculty, staff and the general public.
Common Book Speaker Series
Richmond Museums and the Possibilities of Repair
Wednesday, September 18 | 3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. | Cabell Library Room 250 | Zoom Link
For generations, Richmond's many historical museums championed the Confederacy and the accomplishments of white Virginians. These museums collected and exhibited key historical artifacts, but they told an incomplete and harmful story of the region's past. For the past several decades, however, those same institutions have made efforts to pivot toward repair and revision, exploring such themes raised in Memory Wars. Participants in this panel have first-hand experience in this process, including curator Christina Vida, who led the design team for the Valentine's new Sculpting History exhibit to reframe the sculpture studio of Edward Valentine, creator of so many Lost Cause icons. Panelists will reflect on the challenges of this new approach to the past for more diverse audiences.
Moderator: Christopher Graham, former curator at the American Civil War Museum in Richmond
Panelists: Ana Edwards, Assistant Professor of African-American Studies at VCU; Christina Vida, Elise A. Wright Curator of Special Collections, Valentine Museum; Ryan Smith, Professor of History at VCU
Surviving Memories: Safeguarding Lessons from the Holocaust
Wednesday, September 25 | 3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. | Cabell Library Room 250 | Zoom Link
This panel discussion features three speakers who bring important, unique, and local perspectives to our education about the Holocaust. With thoughtfulness and depth, Sam Asher, the executive director of the Virginia Holocaust Museum, Ben Ipson, the grandson of the founder of the Virginia Holocaust Museum, and Halina Zimm, a Holocaust survivor will add further knowledge and understanding to the Memory Wars podcast.
Moderator: Leslie Cohen-Gee, Assistant Professor in Focused Inquiry, VCU
Panelists: Halina Zimm: Holocaust survivor; Ben Ipson, grandson of the founder of Virginia Holocaust Museum; Sam Asher, Executive Director of Virginia Holocaust Museum
Memory and Memorials
Wednesday, October 2 | 3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. | Cabell Library Room 250 | Zoom Link
Description forthcoming
Panelists: Phil Wilayto, editor of The Virginia Defender; Liliana Faircloth, VCU student and project assistant with the VCU's Well Project; Shawn Utsey, Professor of Psychology, VCU; Michael Blakey, professor of anthropology at William and Mary