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Free People Read Freely: Literacy, Inclusion, and Democracy

Event Type
Seminar/Symposium
Sponsor
University of Illinois System; University of Illinois Press; Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI)
Location
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts and the I Hotel and Illinois Conference Center, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Date
Aug 20, 2024 - Aug 21, 2024   8:30 am - 4:15 pm  
Speaker
President Timothy L. Killeen; Clint Smith; George M. Johnson; Tony Diaz; Ruby Mendenhall
Registration
Registration
Contact
Michael Roux
E-Mail
press-publicity@uillinois.edu
Views
35
Originating Calendar
Calendar

The University of Illinois System will host a symposium in August that will feature speakers and panel discussions on topics including book banning, censorship, and the importance of reading and books to fostering public dialogue, inclusion, and engaged citizenship.

An opening keynote conversation, moderated by UIUC faculty member and Urbana poet laureate Ruby Mendenhall, will feature authors Clint Smith and George M. Johnson. The second day will open with a keynote from writer, activist, and professor Tony Diaz, who led the 2012 Librotraficante Caravan to smuggle banned books back into Arizona in defiance of the state’s ban of Mexican American studies at that time. Other features of the symposium are panel discussions and presentations addressing issues around book banning, censorship, and the importance of reading to inclusion and citizenship. We will also have UIUC theater students presenting performative readings from banned books, and other fun participatory activities. The opening keynote will take place in the Tryon Festival Theatre at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Urbana. The rest of the symposium will take place in the Illinois Ballroom at the I Hotel in Champaign.

Attendance is free but advance registration is required. Box lunches are available for purchase during registration.

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