12:00–1:00 pm ERC 401
Soren Spicknall "Never An Island: Unlearning Myths About the University, the Neighborhood, and Chicago"
The University of Chicago has a longstanding local reputation for insularity, shaping the neighborhood of Hyde Park in its image and creating a social environment for students and affiliates that reinforces geographic barriers against surrounding neighborhoods. Though far from unique in this regard, UChicago's neighborhood identity is so strong that it often leads students to form an incomplete view of the rest of Chicago, and especially of the university's immediate surroundings.
During this talk, you'll hear from Soren Spicknall, a decade-long resident of various south side neighborhoods who first arrived here as a student at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Bronzeville and was given the same kind of advice that is often given to new arrivals at UChicago - "don't go past this street", "avoid that neighborhood", and so on. Through a combination of personal storytelling and exploration of the specific influence that UChicago exerts over its surroundings, Soren will discuss myths and prejudices that keep many of Chicago's new arrivals (and even longtime associates of institutions that treat their environs like an isolated island) from fully understanding or experiencing the city they live in.
This event is funded by a PSD Inclusive Climate Grant.
