In late January, students might find out if race really exists.
A new year-long colloquium to discuss race and related issues is being implemented by the Ball State Department of Anthropology, thanks largely to outside funding.
Each installment of the colloquium is free of charge and open to the public.
Titled "Anthropology, Culture and Diversity in the New Millennium," the colloquium classes will begin on Jan. 25. According to Eric Lassiter, an assistant professor of anthropology, it will focus on a lineup of monthly speakers.
The first colloquium features Lee D. Baker, an associate professor of Duke University. He will address whether race is real or just constructed by culture. Baker is the author of "From Savage to Negro: Anthropology and the construction of race, 1896-1954."
"We are really excited about having invited seven speakers to talk about culture and diversity," Lassiter said. "We are hoping to introduce issues that many anthropologists take for granted - class, power, religion, gender and others.
"We want to communicate and articulate the importance of culture and diversity in our contemporary lives," he said.
After Baker's talk this month, the anthropology department has speakers scheduled for February through April, as well as September through November.
Professionals from North Carolina State University, Indiana University and the City University of New York are scheduled to speak this spring. The topics range from language and culture to disease and religion.
"This colloquium is geared toward everyone interested in culture and diversity, and how these issues relate to their major and other interests," Lassiter said.
The colloquium is sponsored by the George and Frances Ball Fund for Academic Excellence and the Department of Anthropology.
The idea of such a series was made possible by the Ball Fund grant, Lassiter said.
The grants are awarded to improve academic programs, and the professors of anthropology determined that the new colloquium would do that, Lassiter said.
"Our goal is to get our students and faculty engaged in a national conversation about diversity," he said.
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