The College of Humanities and Fine Arts Presents the Fall 2021 Dean's Distinguished Lecture

The UMass Amherst College of Humanities and Fine Arts welcomes acclaimed architect, designer and scholar Mabel O. Wilson as the second speaker in the 2021 Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series. Wilson will give her talk “Studio&: A Black Study” on Friday, Oct. 29 at 4 p.m. in the Olver Design Building atrium.

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Wilson is the is the Nancy and George Rupp Professor of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, a Professor in African American and African Diasporic Studies, Director of the Institute for Research in African American Studies, and Co-Director of the Global Africa Lab at Columbia University. She is the founder of Studio&, a firm exploring different facets of art, architecture, and cultural history. The firm has been a competition finalist for several important cultural institutions including the African Burial Ground Memorial in Manhattan and the Smithsonian’s National Museum for African American History and Culture. She was a member of the architectural team designing the Memorial to Enslaved African American Laborers at the University of Virginia.

The 2021 Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series explores the theme “Race and the American Landscape.” How has the history of race and racism shaped the American landscape, broadly defined? What is the geography of race and racism, whether we consider the built environment and physical space, or the meanings, memories and representations of places marked by race? Scholars and artists have explored these questions and related issues in the study of history, literature, philosophy, art and architecture.

The Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series gives students and the university community the opportunity to learn from leading scholars, artists, writers and practitioners in the humanities and fine arts. Each year, the college will invite two speakers, who will address a broadly defined theme. Invited speakers are chosen based on their achievements and innovation in research, creative endeavors, education and advocacy in the humanities and arts.