A post-racial society? Students and faculty talk about race and identity for next Assembly Series

Feb. 19, 2009 -- The inauguration of the first African-American president was a milestone in American race relations, but to most members of a minority, the judgment that the U.S. is now a post-racial society is quite premature. On February 25, at 4 p.m. in the Danforth University Center, several Washington University in St. Louis students and faculty will gather to lead a conversation about race and identity. The Assembly Series event, free and open to the public, will be held in the Center's Fun Room.

Representatives from student groups, including the Asian American Association, the Association of Black Students, Connect Four, and the Association of Mixed Students will join professors Bob Hansman, associate professor of architecture in the School of Architecture and Urban Design, and Asad Ahmed, assistant professor of Arabic and of Islamic studies in Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures, Arts & Sciences, in an exercise designed to move the discussion about race and identity forward. Anna Shabsin, lecturer in the George Warren Brown School of Social Work and and an expert on intergroup dialogue, will serve as facilitator.

For more information on this Assembly Series program, or upcoming events, please visit the Web page at http://assemblyseries.wustl.edu, or call 314-935-4620.