Cultural critic and historian Paul Gilroy examines issues of race as Kenan Visiting Scholar

January 23, 2008
Chapel Hill, N.C. — Discussion of race has been deemed “unserious” by most scholars and, as a result, the issue of how politics, government and economics creates the racial hierarchy goes unaddressed, cultural critic and historian Paul Gilroy said to a capacity crowd at the Sonja Haynes Center for Black Culture and History Auditorium on Jan. 17.

“These lapses help us identify a missed opportunity,” Gilroy said during his keynote address, part of his much-anticipated visit as a Kenan Visiting Scholar Jan. 17-19. Gilroy argued that any discussion of human rights must include a discussion of race.

The keynote address kicked off a weekend of events, including a conference and informal meetings between Gilroy and UNC-Chapel Hill faculty and students. The visit to campus culminated a graduate course and series of events held during the fall to prepare for the visit. A reading group led by Jennifer Ho, assistant professor of English and Comparative Literature, met monthly to study three of Gilroy's works.

The visiting scholar program is hosted by the Institute for the Arts and Humanities and made possible by a gift from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust.

Gilroy has taught at Goldsmith’s College of the University of London and at Yale University. He is especially noted for his work on the black Diaspora and the migration of peoples, cultures and ideas between Africa, the Caribbean, England and North America. Gilroy has written many books, including The Black Atlantic (Harvard University Press, 1993) and Postcolonial Melancholia (Columbia University Press, 2005).

The weekend conference included four sessions to discuss Gilroy’s work led by UNC and Duke faculty and students, as well as a public interview of Gilroy conducted by students from a seminar on Gilroy’s work taught by UNC faculty Jay Garcia and Sandy Darity. The conference ended with a response from Gilroy and closing discussion.

Other sponsors of Gilroy’s visit were the University Program in Cultural Studies, the Sonja Haynes Center for Black Culture and History, the Institute of African-American Research and Duke University's Franklin Humanities Institute.

The Institute for the Arts and Humanities offers programs to support UNC faculty at every career stage. The IAH funds individual and collaborative research projects, showcases faculty work, develops faculty leaders and teachers, and facilitates the formation of collaborative, interdisciplinary communities that promote intellectual exchange. For more information, visit www.iah.unc.edu.