Stockbridge, MA – September 4, 2018 – The Erikson Institute of the Austen Riggs Center is pleased to announce the upcoming Friday Night Guest Lecture:
- “A Letter of Love: An Encounter with White Backlash” with George Yancy, PhD: Friday, September 7, from 6:30-8:00 p.m.
In this presentation, Dr. Yancy will discuss the vulnerability shown toward white America in the form of a letter of love, entitled “Dear White America.” The letter was designed to model vulnerability regarding his own sexism vis-à-vis the racism of white people. He will explore the question of white privilege, white complicity, and thereby expand how we understand the meaning of white racism. He will also provide examples of the white vitriolic backlash received in response to the letter. This will partially demonstrate forms of white fragility. He will conclude with suggestions regarding how white people might nurture dispositions toward greater understanding of the complexity of their whiteness.
George Yancy, PhD, is professor of philosophy at Emory University. He is editor for Lexington Books’ Philosophy of Racebook series and known for his work in critical philosophy of race, critical whiteness studies, and African American philosophy. He has written, edited, or co-edited more than 18 books, as well as numerous book chapters and articles; his work has been quoted worldwide, including in Turkey, Australia, South Africa, and Sweden. Most recently, he published Backlash: What Happens When We Talk Honestly about Racism in America(Rowman & Littlefield, 2018); On Race: 34 Conversations in a Time of Crisis(Oxford University Press, 2017); and Black Bodies, White Gazes: The Continuing Significance of Race in America, 2nd ed. (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017).
This presentation is designed for mental health professionals, including psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers, with no regular registration fee, and is held in the large conference room of the Medical Office Building at the Austen Riggs Center, located at 25 Main Street in Stockbridge, MA. Continuing education credits will be offered.
View a complete schedule of Friday Night Guest Lectures for 2018-19.
For a complete listing of upcoming events at the Austen Riggs Center, visit: www.austenriggs.org/conferences.
About the Austen Riggs Center
Austen Riggs Center, a leading psychiatric hospital and residential treatment program, has been serving adults since 1919. Within a completely open setting, patients are provided immersion in an intensive treatment milieu that emphasizes respectful engagement. Individual psychodynamic psychotherapy is provided four times a week by doctors on staff. The Erikson Institute for Education and Research of the Austen Riggs Center studies individuals in their social contexts through research, training, education, and outreach programs in the local community and beyond.
The Austen Riggs Center is located in Stockbridge, MA. For more information about its services, please call 413.298.5511 or 800.517.4447 or visit www.austenriggs.org.
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