Lectures and Events

Writer Iman Humaydan and Academic-Translator Michelle Hartman in conversation.

This event is free and open to the public.

This talk explores how the ancient Greeks served as a rallying point for Caribbean diasporic communities in New York City in the 1970s. Professor Andújar will discuss how Greek tragedies featuring obstinate figures resisting powerful authorities (such as Prometheus and Antigone) and oppressed groups (like the enslaved women of Troy) provided important models for minoritized communities in the United States.

This event is free and open to the public.

Vassar celebrates Soweto with a screening of Sifiso Khanyile’s critically acclaimed documentary Uprize!, followed by a faculty roundtable featuring Professors Mia Mask, Ismail Rashid, and Samson Opondo, along with local activist and South African native Dr. Ereshnee Naidu. The discussion will be moderated by Professor Mariam Rashid.

Campus community only, please.

Lecture by Brandon A. Jackson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Illinois and author of Brotherhood University: Black Men's Friendships and Transition to Adulthood.

Free and open to the public.

Screening of Fred Kudjo Kuwornu’s documentary, We Were Here: The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe, followed by a discussion with the director.

This event is free and open to the public.

This talk follows the Sagar Sanpati from Mandvi, India, to the Old Port of Mombasa to explore how interregional connections are forged and strengthened through hospitality.

This event is free and open to the public.

C. Mildred Thompson Lecture: Dr. Laurie Woodard, Associate Professor of African American History at The City College of New York, on Fredi Washington’s career as a performer, writer, and civil and human rights activist.

This event is free and open to the public.

Celebrate culture, creativity, and community with Vassar’s Black Student Union as we honor our students, faculty, and the African diaspora. This year’s Afrofuturism theme centers innovation, resilience, and bold visions for the future.

This event is free and open to the public. RSVP required.

Poet Gold leads an evening of spoken word, music, and conversation, followed by a book signing.

This talk examines how Black artists transform AI from a tool of command and control into a medium for intergenerational dialogue and alternative worlding.

This event is free and open to the public.