Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Institute for Native American Studies will present a lecture and reading by Native Canadian novelist Joseph Boyden April 11 at 4:30 p.m. in Room 125 of the Jackson Street Building. The lecture, part of the Franklin Visiting Scholars series, is free and open to the public.
Boyden grew up in Ontario and is of Irish, Scottish and Anishinaabe heritage. His debut novel, “Three Day Road,” is the story of two Cree soldiers serving in the Canadian military during World War I. The novel, inspired by the story of a legendary WWI sniper, won the Amazon.ca/Books in Canada First Novel Award and the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Award. Boyden’s second novel, “Through the Black Spruce,” won the 2008 Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Canadian equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize.
Boyden is known for writing about the heritage and culture of First Nations peoples, a designation that refers to more than 600 governments of aboriginal people of Canada representing a population of nearly 700,000.
“The history of indigenous people in North America spans thousands of years, a history that bring important context to understanding our modern society,” said Jace Weaver, Franklin Professor of Native American Studies and Religion and director of the Institute for Native American Studies. “Joseph Boyden is a powerful storyteller and celebrated writer whose works share some of the little-known facets of this history—and present—of North America.”
The Franklin Visiting Scholars program assists faculty in bringing to UGA outstanding scholars who also are diversity champions and leaders on their campuses and in their disciplines. The program assists units in developing diverse professional networks for both faculty and graduate student recruitment, development and retention; informs units about effective discipline-based strategies for creating a climate for diversity and inclusion; and assists in developing new collaborations.
For more information on the Franklin College, see http://www.franklin.uga.edu/.
