Dr. Paul McEwan will present “‘The Birth of a Nation,’ Racism, and the Nature of Cinema: 100 Years of Controversy” at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 5, as the 2014-15 Academic Speakers Series continues at UTM. The presentation is free and open to the public and will be held in Campbell Auditorium, located in the Andy Holt Humanities Building.
McEwan is an associate professor of media and communication and director of film studies at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Penn. He specializes in the history of film and will discuss the landmark film “The Birth of a Nation” directed by D.W. Griffith that was released almost 100 years ago. The film is noted for its groundbreaking film techniques and also for its overt racism and positive portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan.
He is the author of a forthcoming volume on “The Birth of a Nation” in the BFI Classics series, as well as articles and essays on the film that have appeared in “Film History and Cinema Journal.” He also wrote an article on the legacy of Griffith’s “Intolerance” for the forthcoming “Companion to D.W. Griffith” and other books and essays on Canadian cinema and film pedagogy.
The Academic Speakers Series annually brings top speakers to UTM to meet with the university’s Honors Programs students and to offer presentations that are open to the public. Honors Programs and other university organizations sponsor the series.
The complete list of 2014-15 speakers is found at http://www.utm.edu/departments/honors/ and select “Academic Speakers Program.”
