The Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, in partnership with the School of Law’s Dean Rusk International Law Center, will present the symposium “Cuba and the U.S. South: A Shared History” Feb. 11-12. Highlighted by a talk from Emory University scholar Mark Sanders, the symposium also will include a panel discussion exploring Georgia’s historic ties to Cuba and a performance by Cuban musician Luis Barberia. There is a $3 charge for Barberia’s performance; all other symposium events are open free to the public.
Part of the Willson Center’s Global Georgia Initiative, Sanders’ lecture, “Blackness and Nationality: The Case of Ricardo Batrell and the Cuban Racial Narrative,” will take place Feb. 11 at 4 p.m. in the Chapel. Sanders is professor and chair of African American studies and professor of English at Emory University. He recently published a translation of Batrell’s 1912 memoir.
On Feb. 11 at 8 p.m., Barberia will perform at Little Kings Shuffle Club, 223 W. Hancock Ave. A member of the collective Habana Abierta, Barberia left Cuba in 1996 for Spain, where he lived until returning to Cuba in 2014.
“Cuba and Georgia over the Decades” will be held Feb. 12 at 4 p.m. in the Larry Walker Room on the fourth floor of Dean Rusk Hall. The discussion by panelists Diane Marie Amann, Kathleen A. Doty and Aleck Stephens will be moderated by Ben Ehlers.
