Arts & Ideas

Framingham State University is proud to present: Arts & Ideas 2016-2017 – a year-long series of engaging speakers, performances, exhibitions and films. This year’s series explores two complimentary themes: Communities and Change: Looking Backward, Looking Forward and Change the Conversation, Change the World.

A noun of action, “conversation” derives from the Latin root conversari, which means “to keep company with.” A real conversation is never a monologue, and never passive. Nor do conversations come in one form. This year’s series explores multiple expressive mediums: the power of the podcast and the prison memoir, the visual narratives of Hmong story cloths, and the dramatic impact of the one-woman-show. We’ll also have the chance to experience the role humor can play in helping us understand the text (and subtext) of this year’s election season.

Sometimes not just the form of the conversation needs to change, but also its content, or emphasis. Explicit in this year’s series is FSU’s commitment to activism. The series reflects the ways both individuals and groups can inaugurate change -- from a Nigerian doctor not afraid to expose the NFL’s concussion crisis (and the journalist with the courage to break the story) to a group of Turkish and Armenian women willing to hold honest dialogues about the history of genocide. Building on FSU’s teach-in on the #BlackLivesMatter movement, the series includes a deliberate focus on social justice issues, including the voice of a former prisoner, prosecutors and legal reformers, the lived experiences of children with undocumented parents, and individuals with disabilities fighting for access and inclusion.

Please note that dates, times and locations are subject to change.

To view a copy of the Arts & Ideas Brochure, click here.