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| Prof. Houston Baker presents "Black Citizenship, Public Intellectuals and the New Presidency" on Sept. 17. |
When Dr. Houston Baker, distinguished professor at Vanderbilt University and expert in African American literature, kicks off the English Department's Distinguished Speakers series later this month, Anthony Stewart will certainly be in attendance.
Dr. Stewart, associate professor of English at Dalhousie, says he expects Baker’s lecture “Black Citizenship, Public Intellectuals and the New Presidency” to be “highly entertaining.” Dr. Stewart, who has seen Baker speak before and his quite familiar with his writing, admires Baker’s ability to motivate his audience to consider issues from unique perspectives.
“He always brings you something that you haven’t considered before,” he says. “He is courageous in so far as his ability and willingness to take on issues in ways that are surprising and not what you would expect.”
Dr. Stewart cites the example of the controversial arrest of an African American academic, Henry Gates, by a white police officer this summer in the United States as an issue that he expects Baker will discuss. Dr. Stewart says he expects Baker will be somewhat critical of President Obama’s subsequent intervention in the matter.
“Everyone knows why Professor Gates was arrested,” he says. “The fact of the matter is he was arrested because he is black.”
Even though Dr. Stewart is eager to hear Baker’s take on the incident, he notes that Baker will not necessarily rush to Gates’ defence. “Baker is actually quite critical of Gates,” he says. “Baker in general is pretty critical of how black intellectuals have betrayed the civil rights movement,” he added.
Regardless of the lecture’s subject matter, Dr. Stewart still expects Baker’s visit will be a boost for Dalhousie. “I’m thrilled and quite frankly a little but surprised that we were able to get him here," he says. “He’s on the cutting edge of thinking about race in America and he’ll have a great deal to contribute to how we think about race here in Canada as well.”
Dr. Baker’s lecture takes place on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in the Scotiabank auditorium in the Marion McCain Building. All students and faculty are encouraged to attend.