Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Deborah Willis, Awam Amkpa, Manthia Diawara, Lydie Diakhaté, Cheryl Finley, Thelma Golden, Anne-Christine Taylor-Descola, Anna Laban, Christine Barthe, Jean-Paul Colleyn, Caroline Montel-Glénisson, and Raissa Lahcine are just a few of the international scholars who'll be present for this conference that I wish I could attend.

A summary follows below; but for the full story, click HERE.

Black Portraiture[s]: The Black Body in the West

January 17 – 20, 2013 – Paris, France

The theme of this year’s conference is on the black body in the west. NYU faculty, international scholars, students, and invited guests will together explore new ways to discuss images and experiences of how the black body is imagined in the West. How might we understand the expansive experiences from historical perceptions and contemporary art? Conference participants will unite across diverse disciplines and topics through a shared commitment to analyzing the body politics. The event is the result of an international collaboration between the Department of Photography & Imaging at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and the Institute for African American Affairs, the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard University, and NYU Paris. This year, our collaborators also include Cornell University, Musée du quai Branly, FSHM, L’Ecole Nationalae Superieure des Beaux Arts, and NYU Paris.

This conference is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Seating may be limited and will be managed on a first come, first serve basis.

For Conference Schedule, Recommended Hotels, Black Portraiture[s] Info, Venues Map, and Presentation venues please go to these sites:

Conference Registration: http://blackportraitures.eventbrite.com/

Link to the Black Portraiture[s] newsletter: http://eepurl.com/sCqrv

Black Portraiture[s] webpage: http://photo.tisch.nyu.edu/object/BlackPortraitures.html

For more information and questions please contact: NYU Department of Photography & Imaging: blackportraitures2013@gmail.com