About:
We often think of prejudice as an individual attribute, but there are cultural and psychological underpinnings that lead to the generation and stabilization of attitudes related to stereotypes and prejudice. In this session, we will explore the Western cultural conceptualization of darkness, as exhibited in old and new mythologies, and how it has created a foundation and rationale for racial marginalization of people described as “dark.” We will examine how myths are represented in psychological schemas that form the bases of our cognitive organization and social expectations and how present day examples reflect their mythic legacies.
Speaker:
DR. SHERI PARKS
Founding director of the Arts and Humanities Center for Synergy at the University of Maryland, College Park
Sheri Parks is a former associate dean for research, interdisciplinary scholarship and programming for the College or Arts and Humanities, an associate professor of American studies, and the first director of the Arts and Humanities Center for Synergy at the University of Maryland (UMD) at College Park.