Event Explores Intellectual and Creative Expression of African Diaspora

ATLANTA (February 3, 2020)—The Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library, Clark Atlanta University, the Georgia Institute of Technology and Spelman College will host Planet Deep South ATL 2020 from Feb. 19 to Feb. 22.

Planet Deep South is an interdisciplinary conference open to scholars, artists and students that explores the intellectual and creative expression of African people. Through a series of presentations and panel discussions, the conference is designed to inspire the inquiry of Africana cultural production through a digital, historical and speculative lens.

“The AUC Woodruff Library is excited to host such a fantastic event,” said Loretta Parham, CEO and Library Director. “It is my hope that attendees will develop a greater sense of self after exploring the storied past, ever-changing present and bold, boundless future of Mother Africa’s children.”

The 2020 theme focuses on “Digital Humanities, Speculative Cultural Production and Africanisms in the American and Global South.” Through an Afro-futuristic outlook, thinkers, writers, musicians and artists envision a Pan-African world that is diverse yet specific, imagined yet real, and grounded yet unlimited, extending beyond region, space and time.

Confirmed keynote speakers include:

John Jennings, Professor, Media and Cultural Studies; University of California at Riverside.

Designer, curator, illustrator, cartoonist, and award-winning graphic novelist

@AUC Robert W. Woodruff Library

Feb. 19 at 1 p.m.

Ytasha Womack, filmmaker, author, dance therapist and leading expert on Afrofuturism

@AUC Robert W. Woodruff Library

Feb. 21 at 1 p.m.

Ruha Benjamin, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of African American Studies; Princeton University

@Spelman College, Feb. 21 at 6:30 p.m.

D. Fox Harrell, PhD, Director of MIT

Center for Advanced Virtuality;

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

@ Georgia Tech, Feb. 20 at 12:15p.m.

Visit www.planetdeepsouth.com for more information.

About the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library

The Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library serves the nation’s largest consortium of historically black colleges and universities, which includes Clark Atlanta University, the Interdenominational Theological Center, Morehouse College and Spelman College. As the intellectual center of this prestigious academic community, the Library’s mission is to provide the highest level of information resources and services in support of student and faculty success and the cultural preservation of the Atlanta University Center. In addition to the aesthetic benefits of this state-of-the-art facility, the Library has evolved into a model repository of information resources and a front-runner in the innovative delivery of digital resources. The AUC Woodruff Library is the winner of the 2016 Excellence in Academic Libraries Award in the university category from the Association of Collegiate and Research Libraries (ACRL). Library CEO Loretta Parham was named the ACRL 2017 Academic/Research Librarian of the Year.

About Clark Atlanta University

Clark Atlanta University (CAU) is a leading research institution of higher education, offering 38 exciting areas of study at bachelor’s, master’s, specialists, and doctoral levels.  Established in 1988 by the historic consolidation of Atlanta University (1865) and Clark College (1869), CAU continues a 150-year legacy rooted in the African-American tradition and focused on the future. Through global innovation, transformative educational experiences, and high-value engagement, CAU cultivates lifted lives that transform the world.

About the Georgia Institute of Technology

The Georgia Institute of Technology, also known as Georgia Tech, is one of the leading public research universities in the United States. Georgia Tech provides a technologically focused education to more than 36,000 undergraduate and graduate students in fields ranging from engineering, computing, and sciences, to business, design, and liberal arts. Research, economic development and other sponsored activities at Georgia Tech passed a significant milestone during the fiscal year that concluded on June 30, 2019, recording more than a billion dollars in new grants, contracts and other awards.

About Spelman College

Founded in 1881, Spelman College is a leading liberal arts college widely recognized as the global leader in the education of women of African descent. The College’s picturesque campus is home to 2,100 students. Spelman is the country’s leading producer of Black women who complete Ph.D.s in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Recent initiatives include a designation by the Department of Defense as a Center of Excellence for Minority Women in STEM, a Gender and Sexuality Studies Institute, the first endowed queer studies chair at an HBCU, and a program to increase the number of Black women Ph.D.s in economics. New majors have been added, including documentary filmmaking and photography, and partnerships have been established with MIT’s Media Lab, the Broad Institute and the Army Research Lab for artificial intelligence and machine learning. Outstanding alumnae include Children’s Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman, Starbucks Group President and COO Rosalind Brewer, political leader Stacey Abrams, former Acting Surgeon General and Spelman’s first alumna president Audrey Forbes Manley, actress and producer Latanya Richardson Jackson, global bioinformatics geneticist Janina Jeff and authors Pearl Cleage and Tayari Jones. For more information, visit www.spelman.edu.