Religion in Culture Lecture
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In his introduction to our February 3, 2005 Religion
in Culture Lecture, Prof. Ted
Trost said:
 Our
speaker today, Prof. Amilcar
Shabazz, is the first director of the African
American Studies Program at the University of Alabama
and is an Associate Professor in the Department
of American Studies.
Essence Magazine (in its May 2004 issue) ranked his newest
book, Advancing
Democracy: African Americans and the Struggle for Access and
Equity in Higher Education in Texas (University of
North Carolina Press, 2004),  a
top ten bestseller in the nonfiction paperback category. Shabazz
has also published The Forty Acres Documents, a sourcebook
on reparations, along with several book chapters, reviews
and journal articles, including "One for the Crows, One for
the Crackers: The Strange Career of Public Higher Education
in Houston, Texas" in The Houston Review. In addition,
he was recently named a Fulbright
Senior Specialist to Brazil.
In recognition of his work as a teacher, the University
of Alabama National Alumni Association awarded him its
Outstanding
Commitment to Teaching Award in 2001, one of its most
prestigious awards. And in 2004, the UA chapter of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
bestowed on him "The Flaming Torch Award."
As the 60th anniversary of Bob Marley's birthday approaches,
it is worth noting that Prof. Shabazz frequently teaches a
travel-study
course to Jamaica. And, along with his wife Demetria and
their son Amilcar, he recently welcomed into his household
a the newborn child, Hosea.
The title of today's lecture is: "Also Sprach Rastafari: Locks,
Livity, and Disidentification with Late Capitalist Interpellation,"
about which I can only say: if you're gonna lay down a title
like that, you've got some explaining to do. I am therefore
pleased to see so many people here today looking for some
kind of explanation. So, on behalf of the Religious Studies
Department, it is my pleasure to introduce to all of you Dr.
Amilcar Shabazz.
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Once again, we would like to express our gratitude to Prof.
Trost, Betty Dickey, and Donna Martin, for planning this event.
We also appreciate the Dean
of Libraries allowing us to hold this lecture in Gorgas
Library. Finally, we are always indebted to the College
of Arts & Sciences' Anonymous Lecture Fund in the
Humanities for helping to make this, and other, events possible.
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Prof. Shabazz begins his Religion in
Culture lecture, held in Gorgas Library's East Reading Room,
on Rastafarianism as a Late Capitalist, Post-Colonialist
movement
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As part of this presentation, Prof. Shabazz
offered a political reading of Reggae lyrics
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Dean of Arts & Science Bob Olin (center),
speaking with Profs. Matthew Winston, of English (left), and
Steve Jacobs, of Religious Studies. Prof. Harold Weber, of
English, is on the far right.
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As with all Religion in Culture lectures,
a small reception followed the presentation.
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Prof. Shabazz greeting guests after the lecture.
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Prof. Jennifer Purvis (center), of Women's
Studies, speaks with Profs. Tim Murphy (left) and Kurtis Schaeffer
(right), both of Religious Studies.
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American Studies students (left to right) Andrew
Marcum, Angela Scott, and Makiba Foster enjoy the post-lecture
reception.
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The reception was an opportunity for guests
to question Prof. Shabazz in greater detail about his application
of Frederic Jameson's theoretical work to Rastafarianism.
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Samantha Sastre (center), President of the
Religious Studies Student Association (RSSA) and our photographer
for this event, along with Betty Dickey (left), and REL major
Brian Robbins (far right), with Profs. Murphy and Schaeffer.
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