2014 Hancock Symposium Preview

By Dr. Natasia Sexton, Associate Professor of Music, Communications and Fine Arts Department Chair, 2014 Hancock Symposium Committee Chair

In 1968, when the Beatles sang the words “you say you want a revolution” and “we all want to change the world,” it was not the first time artists had used their creative work to align themselves with social upheaval or political activism. Although these British rockers of the sixties extended dialogues about radicalism, pacifism, and idealism while also sparking controversy among fans from the left as well as the right, with Revolution they joined a long-line of musician-activists who had sought to broaden political and social discourse by awakening the public’s emotions to fundamentally humanitarian issues.

This musician-activist is old. Older than will.i.am and Rage Against the Machine. Older than Joan Baez. Older than our beloved, late Pete Seeger. Let’s go way back to the American Revolution. Curious students of history can easily track down the chapbooks printed during the war on both sides of the Atlantic which provide evidence of broadside balladeers promoting war propaganda through raised voices in song throughout the streets of Boston, as well as the streets of London.

So, if the musician-activist is of the present and the past, then from whence stems that staying-power? Through art, one may simultaneously touch the heart and engage the mind.

The 2014 Hancock Symposium will investigate the efficacy of the arts as a catalyst within societies both past and present. “So, You Say You Want a Revolution?”: The Arts and Culture in Action is designed to touch our hearts and open our minds as we are challenged to consider the arts beyond their capacity to entertain. Beginning with a cool week of teasers sponsored by Student Life and Campus Activities Board and continuing through plenary presentations, break-out sessions, a Green Lecture, evening performances, and follow-ups to include a student coffeehouse and an interdisciplinary panel discussion, we will experience the arts crossing and breaking traditional boundaries to engage our community in dynamic and compelling ways (find the program here).

Jennifer Sanders ’08, Tamara Sanders ’06, Jessica Sanders ’06, Jorden Sanders ’14, and Jacquelyn Sanders ’11

For instance, have you ever wondered what your roommate’s tattoos may reveal about his or her cultural identity? Come to Tattoosday in Latshaw Plaza on September 9 and then join Professor Stephanie Robinson in CSC 329 on Sept. 16 to learn more! Also, our Breakthrough sculpture constructed from contiguous sections of the Berlin Wall is a favorite photo backdrop on campus.

On the morning of the 16th, Professor Jeremy Straughn will mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall as he reveals political myths and mysteries surrounding the event in 1989. Later that afternoon, you can hear Churchill’s grand-daughter Edwina Sandys, Breakthrough’s creator, as she recounts her work on the sculpture and the significance of the fall of the Iron Curtain.

You may also contribute to Westminster’s ongoing partnership with Rwandan villages as Sally Stapleton reminds us of the genocide there 20 years ago this spring. Stapleton, a Fulbright Scholar and a Missouri native who led a team of photographers to two Pulitzer Prizes in Photography for their Africa coverage, is the featured plenary speaker at 1 pm in Champ on Sept. 16. Her address will be bookended by performances during the evenings of Sept. 15 and 17 where goodwill offerings will be received to support our Rwanda Community Partnership program, focusing on women’s craft-making and fair trade in rural Rwanda.

On Tuesday night Sept. 16, Professor Nate Leonard will present a group reading of Tectonic Theater’s documentary play The Laramie Project. The reading will be a postlude to the opening plenary address by Andy Paris who collaborated with Tectonic Theater Project in the writing of The Laramie Project and was also one of the actors to debut this play which addresses homophobia and hate crimes.

If live music and movies are what you like, Hancock Symposium 2014 has plenty of that, too. Tattoosday on September 9 will feature local bands in Latshaw Plaza beginning at 6pm. Tattoosday, offered through the sponsorship of the Campus Activities Board, will feature live music by Violet and the Undercurrents and The Kay Brothers, plus henna and temporary tattoos designed by professional tattoo artists, games, prizes, and more.

And, on September 15th we’ll kick-start the symposium at 7 pm in Champ Auditorium with Moira Smiley and VOCO. Moira (photo, right) is a performance innovator who crosses traditional performance boundaries. Through folk music, protest songs, and world music she forges music with dance and body-percussion, as well as unusual instrumental accompaniment. Her style defies categorization as her groupies include those who follow the folk circuit, indie-artists, and the literati.

Following the Green Lecture by humanitarian-musician Bob Geldof, you can join Westminster students for a coffeehouse open-mic night in JCI which will include a sing-in of the 1985 humanitarian anthem We Are the World. As for movies, two evenings of documentary films on September 10 and 11 will be preludes for a plenary address by Dale Bell, producer of the 1970 Academy Award-winning film Woodstock: The Movie, and a break-out session featuring one of the founders of the Citizen Jane Film Festival in Columbia. Dale Bell, an Ashoka Fellow, currently works in media policy and he will share reflections on the past, present, and future impact of Woodstock as well as his expertise in film policy and advocacy. Paula Elias, Director of the Citizen Jane Film Institute will lead a break-out session on the F word, … that is Feminism, or Film, or Fun—or some variation thereof.

In the same way that the arts cross and break boundaries, “So, You Say You Want a Revolution?”: The Arts and Culture in Action intends to refashion the way we pursue intellectual discourse for a few days on campus. The arts will extend our symposium experience beyond the walls of the traditional lecture hall presentation, yet in keeping with the spirit of the Hancock Symposium, we will investigate the arts through the lens of citizenship. In the end—and through our immersion in art, photography, theater, and music—we hope that this year’s symposium inspires a rich awareness of, a deeper sensitivity to, and a more meaningful engagement with the world around us.