BRN Speaker Series: In Conversation with William Paris

We are delighted to announce that William Paris (Toronto) will be giving the inaugural talk in the new Black Research Network (BRN) Speaker Series. The series invites the greatest minds from the University of Toronto and beyond to engage in meaningful conversations and inquiries about their recent work and careers. 

In this talk, Paris will reflect on the work of American political activist James Boggs, detailed in his paper, “What Was Black Power? James Boggs and the Materialist Theory of Rights.” In the paper, Paris writes, “The question of Black power referred to in the title of this paper is: what was Black power? From the end of the Civil Rights Movement to the beginning of the 1980s James Boggs set about the task of investigating Black power as a scientific concept rather than a metaphor or emotive slogan.”

 The conversation will be mediated by Rinaldo Walcott, an associate professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and a former director of the Women and Gender Studies Institute. 

Co-sponsored by the McLuhan Centre and the Department of Philosophy, this event will take place in-person and via live broadcast. Limited seating is available, so please be sure to register for tickets/the appropriate link.