Salon 2016-17: (in)humanity - College of Arts and Sciences

About the Salon

The Salon is sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences Center for the Arts and Humanities. The Center was created through the generosity of Victor and Julia Botto Vari, the Jesuit Community, and Santa Clara University President Michael Engh, S.J.

A Salon was proposed as part of the new Center for the Arts and Humanities as a way to promote social responsibility through creative exploration and discussion. Different from a conference or an institute, the Salon includes a variety of artistic and thought-provoking activities that are meant to engage (and maybe even unsettle) the audience. But these initial performances are only half of what constitutes the Salon.

In fact, the very name "Salon" was chosen because immediately after these activities there will be food and beverages and a welcoming atmosphere for people to address the issues and the effect of the presentations. Like the 17th and 18th century salons of Europe, this atmosphere is meant to be both entertaining and informative. The goal is for audience members, fresh from the initial presentations, to gather in a comfortable, format-free setting and discuss their impressions, emotions, thoughts, etc.

This year, the theme is (in)humanity. The Salon focuses on who is included “in” the category of humanity and who is relegated to observer status (immigrants, refugees, women, the poor, animals). It also explores the range of contemporary inhumanity by asking how the humanities and arts may work as agents of change in a world besieged by violence, alienation, and misunderstanding.

Salon Week I

January 11-16

XLIII: A Contemporary Requiem

Mission Santa Clara de Asís
Friday, January 15
7:30 PM
Admission: $25 General; $10 Students

Participants: The Montalvo Arts Center and the SCU Chamber Singers.

XLIII is an original music and dance performance created by composer Andrés Solis and choreographer Sandra Milena Gómez. The piece is dedicated to the victims of Ayotzinapa (the 43 students murdered last year in Guerrero, Mexico) and the victims of the impunity, corruption, and war against drugs in Mexico.

Salon Week II

January 25-30

Deceptions of Old Glory: Rap as a Critique of Memory, Nostalgia, and Nationality

Recital Hall, Music & Dance Building
Thursday, January 28
5:30 PM

Participants: Tim’m West.

Through performance and lecture, Tim’m West will explore themes of freedom and black vocality in Hip-Hop, Blues, and Gospel. Known for his groundbreaking work as a gay-identified hip-hop artist, AIDS activist, and youth advocate, West is currently the Senior Managing Director for Teach For America’s LGBTQ Initiative.

Coming Together

Recital Hall, Music & Dance Building
Friday, January 29
7:30 PM

Participants: SCU Department of Music faculty and guest artists.

A concert featuring Frederic Rzewski’s iconic ensemble work about the Attica Prison uprising, with music faculty and guests, and protest songs performed by the SCU Chamber Singers.

St. Clare Room, Library and Learning Commons
Saturday, January 30
9 AM - 5 PM
Admission: $20 General. Free: Students, Faculty & Staff

Participants: Samantha Besson, Ph.D., University of Fribourg, Switzerland; Gopal Sreenivasan, Ph.D., Duke University; Carol Gould, Ph.D., Hunter College and CUNY;
Allen Buchanan, Ph.D., Duke University.

Professors Besson, Sreenivasan, Gould, and Buchanan will present on a range of topics concerning global human rights, followed by a panel conversation and Q&A.

The event is co-sponsored by the Ignatian Center, the SCU School of Law, the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, and the SCU Department of Philosophy.

Salon Week III

February 1-6

Lamentations: Images of War and Protest

Mission Santa Clara de Asís
Tuesday, February 2
7 PM

Participants: David Pleins, Ph.D. and the Catholic Community at Stanford Chapel Choir. Choreography by Claire Calalo ’07 and Lauren Baines ’08.

A performance piece dramatizing the war poetry of the Jewish Bible. Modern dance, choral music, percussion, and spoken word bring witness to the horrors of war through the eyes of its victims.

Salon Week IV

February 8-13

Inhumanity to Animals? A Discussion and Debate about Who Counts

Parlors B & C, Benson Memorial Center
Wednesday, February 10
7 PM

Participants: Shannon Vallor, Ph.D., Erick Ramirez, Ph.D. and Justin Remhof, Ph.D.

Dr. Shannon Vallor will moderate a debate and discussion of animal interests between
Dr. Erick Ramirez and Dr. Justin Remhof. Participants will engage in the topic of inhumanity to animals and thereby initiate a broader conversation about who gets left out of our ethical considerations.

Salon Week V

February 15-20

The Rwandan Orphans Project Photographic Exhibition, with Santa Clara Student Poetry

Fine Arts Building Gallery
Thursday, February 18
5:30 PM

Participants: The Department of Art and Art History and the Department of English.

The photographs in this exhibition are featured works produced by several students from the Rwandan Orphans Project in Kigali, Rwanda. After composing their self-portraits and hand-coloring their prints, each student crafted a sentence in Kinyarwanda, their native language. SCU English students will display and read poetry in response to the photographs.