Fall 2009
Cup of Culture
Paradise Now
Wednesday, October 7, 6 pm
Film Screening / MCC Theater
A 2006 Golden Globe winner for best foreign language film, Paradise Now intensely
and powerfully tells the story of two lifelong friends that are tapped by an unidentified
Palestinian resistance organization to carry out a suicide bombing together in Tel
Aviv. Hany Abu-Assad, 91 min., Arabic and English, 2005, Palestine.
Race, Lies & Stereotypes: Posters on Racism and Anti-Semitism
Thursday, October 8 - Friday, December 11 Exhibition
Thursday, October 8, 4 pm Opening Reception
Art Exhibit/MCC Lounge
Insidiously, from generation to generation, racism and anti-Semitism are perpetuated
in Africa and the Middle East, in Europe, and on the streets of Los Angeles. Race,
Lies and Stereotypes presents powerful international and domestic graphics that
penetrate the experience of discrimination. The exhibition illustrates historical
and current events on the world stage and explores efforts to combat stereotypes.
By showing the pervasiveness of bigotry and discrimination, this exhibition emphasizes
that intolerance can be avoided by the active involvement of individuals to ensure
that the past is not repeated. Produced by the Center for the Study of Political
Graphics, Los Angeles, California.
An Evening of West African Music with Koumbemba
Saturday, October 10, 8 pm
Music Performance/MCC Theater
Founded by acclaimed singer and Kora player Karamo Cissokho and master drummer Ibrahima
Ngom, Koumbemba blends traditional West African music with a modern Reggae style.
Karamo sings mostly in his native language of Manding and in Wolof, Senegal’s national
language. As a group of expert musicians, the band also includes two master drummers
in the West African tradition of the griot, who have played in the world renowned
National Senegalese Ballet. Tickets $5 students / $15 general. Contact the A.S. Ticket
Office at 805-893-2064.
Race Matters Series
“The Latina Moment:” The Nomination and Appointment of Sonia Sotomayor as Supreme
Court Justice • Pei-te Lien
Tuesday, October 13, 6:30 pm
Discussion/MCC Lounge
The nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the first Latina justice on the Supreme
Court spurred a heated debate heavy with partisan and ethnic politics. Despite her
impressive credentials, the GOP questioned her gender and ethnicity and her past
affiliation with a liberal advocacy group to strategically tarnish her credibility
as a Justice. Pei-te Lien, professor in Political Science at UC Santa Barbara and
co-principal investigator of the Gender and Multicultural Leadership project, will
lead a discussion on U.S. racial and ethnic politics and political representation
of non-white Americans.
Cup of Culture
Meet the Filmmaker
Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority
Wednesday, October 14, 6 pm
Film Screening / MCC Theater
This award-winning film explores Patsy Takemoto Mink’s legacy as the first woman
of color to ever serve in the United States Congress. A legislative trailblazer,
Mink overcame racial and gender discrimination to become one of the most influential
public servants of her generation. She was a tenacious advocate of women’s rights
who co-authored the ground-breaking Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972,
the landmark legislation that mandated gender equity in education and especially
celebrated for its impact on women’s high school and college athletics. Discussion
with director Kimberlee Bassford following the screening. Kimberlee Bassford, 56 min., English, 2008, USA
Open Mic with CYPHER
Thursday, October 15, 8 pm
Open Mic/MCC Lounge
Come and check out CYPHER (Culture of Youth Progressing Humanity in Expression and
Rhythm) in an open mic expression night of local artists that share their work through
spoken word, freestyle battles, beat boxers, dancers, and plenty of other art forms
of expression.
Children’s Event
Caribbean Mask Making
Saturday, October 17, 1:00 pm
Workshop/MCC Lounge
Learn about the masks of the world in this mask-making workshop with Dancing Drum.
This session will focus on making a Vejigante-style mask from Puerto Rico,
using paper, paint, and a variety of colorful materials. Participants will learn
about the use of this style of mask in Caribbean culture, listen to plena
and bomba music that is traditionally played for the mask dance, and create
their own wearable mask to take home with them. This workshop is for children ages
6 and up.
Diversity Lecture
MEDIA THAT NURTURES • Gregory Coyes
Monday, October 19, 4 pm
Lecture/MCC Theater
For the last twenty-five years, Gregory Coyes has been producing award-winning films
and television in the Metis and First Nations communities of Canada. His
work has been broadcast on Canadian and international networks, including the Aboriginal
Peoples Television Network. In this lecture, Coyes will consider what we regard
as value in our own communities, why it is of value to our communities, and what
approach we take in the treatment of this information to bring it to a wider, public
audience.
EPCA WORKSHOP
MEGAPHONIC LITERATURE: CREATING COMMUNITY THROUGH PERFORMANCE POETRY • Jason Magabo
Perez
Tuesday, October 20, 5 pm
Workshop/MCC Lounge
Jason Magabo Perez teaches creative writing and performance for the Ethnic Studies
Program at the University of San Diego. Through critical dialogue, creative writing,
and performance exercises, attendees will explore representations of race, class,
gender, and sexuality in the media and use their bodies and languages to represent
themselves. The literary practice of spoken word and methods of the Theatre of the
Oppressed will be used as tools for resistance and radical social transformation.
Be prepared to read, write, perform, and resist!
Cup of Culture
Pilipino American Heritage Month
Meet the Filmmaker
Sounds of a New Hope
Wednesday, October 21, 6 pm
Film Screening/MCC Theater
Sounds of a New Hope is a documentary film about the life of Pilipino-American
emcee KIWI and the growing use of hip-hop as an organizing tool in the people’s
movement for national liberation and democracy in the Philippines. Eric Tandoc's
short film draws connections between music and politics, the Philippines, and Pilipino
America. He follows KIWI as the young rapper grows from his brash youth as a gang
banger on the streets of Koreatown to radical political activism promoted throughout
the slum-dwellings of the Philippines. Followed by a performance by KIWI and a Q
& A with the director. Eric Tandoc, 45 min., English and Tagalog, 2009, USA/Philippines.
The Cultural and Religious Significance of Food in the Middle East • Magda Campo
Thursday, October 22, 5 pm
Lecture-Demo/MCC Lounge
Ful Midammis, falafel anyone? Egyptian fast food dishes throughout the Middle
East, although simple in their appearance and preparation, are part of Egyptian
identity and culture and encompass religious meanings and practices. In her talk,
Magda Campo, who teaches Arabic in the Religious Studies Department at UC Santa
Barbara, will discuss the significance of these dishes accompanied by a demonstration
on how to make them.
An Evening of Jarocho Music with Conjunto Hueyapan de la Familia Herrera
Friday, October 23, 8 pm
Music Performance/MCC Theater
Founded by Professor Fermín Herrera in 1973, Conjunto Hueyapan performs the finest
interpretation of the festive, traditional music of Veracruz, Mexico, known as son
jarocho. This familiy masters the jarana, the requinto, and the dual harp. They
have delighted audiences at the Kennedy Center in Washington, President Ronald Reagan's
1985 Inaugural Ball, the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival, and numerous other national
and international venues and television programs. In addition, individual members
have been guest performers in concert tours and recordings by Linda Ronstadt, Los
Lobos, and Jaguares. Tickets $5 students / $15 general. Contact the A.S. Ticket
Office at 805-893-2064.
Race Matters Series
Graduate Students of Color at UC Santa Barbara
Domestic Abuse and Communities of Color
Tuesday, October 27, 6:30 p.m.
Discussion/MCC Lounge
Members of the Graduate Student Association at UC Santa Barbara will lead a discussion
on issues related to the experiences of graduate students of color at this campus.
They will address the particular challenges they face including isolation and language
barriers, lack of diversity on the campus, labeling, peer (mis)perceptions, mentoring,
and faculty/graduate student relations. At the same time, presenters will highlight
both campus and community resources. Undergraduate students considering graduate
school should also attend. Participation is encouraged, so please bring questions
and comments!
Student Series
Bordertown
Wednesday, October 28, 6pm
Film Screening/MCC Theater
Bordertown is based on the tragic account of hundreds of women working in American-owned
factories in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, where dozens of women working in the maquiladoras
have been kidnapped, raped, and murdered; and little, if anything, has been done
about it. Eva, a 16-year-old factory worker who was left for dead by the two men
who raped her, seeks the help of a local newspaper man. Lauren Adrian, an up-and-coming
Chicago newspaper reporter is assigned to the story. What she finds is a corrupt
system of unfair labor practices, where workers are offered absolutely no protection
from the police, the government agencies, or the companies they slave for. Discussion
with Mujeres de Juarez de UCSB following the screening. Gregory Nava, 112 min., English
and Spanish, 2006, USA.
Race Matters Series
Does Race Matter? The Henry Louis Gates
Case and RaceRelations in America
Monday, November 2, 5 pm
Panel Discussion/MCC Lounge
The arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. at his home in Cambridge,
Massachusetts on July 16, 2009 ignited a wide range of legal and social debate as
well as a media firestorm worldwide. Mark Sawyer, Associate Professor of African
American Studies and Political Science and Director of the Center for the Study
of Race, Ethnicity and Politics at UCLA; Tarika Lewis, community activist and first
female recruit of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense; and law enforcement
representatives will address topics such as racial profiling, civil rights, incarceration,
and other topics on race relations in America.
Up from the Cradle of Jazz: New Orleans Post-Katrina • Jason Berry
Tuesday, November 3, 4pm
Lecture/MCC Theater
Jason Berry, distinguished author, cultural historian, and documentarian will share
a video of jazz funerals in New Orleans and discuss the state of music and politics
since Hurricane Katrina. He will sign copies of the book Up from the Cradle of Jazz
after his presentation.
Cup of Culture
American Indian Heritage Month
Alcatraz is Not an Island
Wednesday, November 4, 6 pm
Film Screening/MCC Theater
In November 1969, a small group of Native American students and urban Indians began
the occupation of Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay Area. Eventually joined
by thousands of Native Americans, they reclaimed “Indian land” for the first time
since the 1880s, forever changing the way Native Americans viewed themselves, their
culture, and their sovereign rights. Discussion following the screening. James M.
Fortier, 69 min., English, USA.
Cup of Culture
OUTRAGEOUS! OPENING NIGHT
SB Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Film Festival
Thursday, November 12, 8pm
Film screening/
MCC Theater
The MCC is excited to present the first screening of the 18th Annual Santa Barbara
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Film Festival. The film shorts presented
on this night will feature the latest and greatest in film by and for queer communities
throughout the United States. A free reception to meet and greet will follow the
show.
An Evening of Chinese Music with Melody of China
Friday, November 13, 8 pm
Music Performance/MCC Theater
Formed by a group of enthusiastic professional musicians from some of the most prestigious
music conservatories in China, Melody of China is the premiere Chinese music ensemble
in the San Francisco Bay Area. . Multi-instrumentalist Hong Wang, Linhong Li on
pipa (Chinese lute), and Haiyue Zhang on ruan (moon guitar) and
liuqin (Chinese
mandolin) will play an array of classical, folk, and contemporary music. Tickets
$5 students / $15 general. Contact the A.S. Ticket Office at 805-893-2064.
Student Series
Improving Dreams, Equality, Access, and Success • IDEAS
Tuesday, November 17, 6:30 pm
Discussion/MCC Lounge
Students from IDEAS will present the opportunities and barriers of undocumented
immigrant students in the higher education system. While the AB 540 law allows more
"affordable" tuition for these students at many universities, these students are
still blocked out of the workforce upon graduation. Come and learn what undocumented
students and allies are doing to help achieve their dreams through activism and
how YOU can help create equal access to education on your campus.
Meet the Filmmaker
PARIAH
Wednesday, November 18, 6 pm
Film screening/MCC Theater
Pariah is a coming-of-age drama about a lesbian teenager who unsuccessfully
juggles multiple identities to avoid rejection from her friends and family. Set
against the kinetic and incongruous social landscape of middle class New York City,
Alike vacillates between being a proud and sexually independent woman amongst her
openly gay friends and being the feminine, obedient girl that her strict Christian
upbringing dictates. Discussion with producer Nekisa Cooper following the screening.
Dee Rees, 90 min., English, 2006, USA.
Jails are not Homes: Transforming Skid Row
Thursday, November 19, 7:30 pm
Multimedia Presentation/MCC Theater
A compelling multimedia presentation on the campaign to build a sustainable community
in the downtown Los Angeles community of Center City East (Skid Row). Residents
and activists associated with the Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN)
will present their stories, poems, and short films on the resilience of residents
in the face of economic recession, homelessness, displacement policies, and negative
media representations such as The Soloist.