Transylvania University’s Transformative Text Initiative, funded by the Teagle Foundation, will host a series of events starting this week featuring distinguished speakers and a film screening.
The initiative aims to enrich the academic experience by exploring diverse texts and their impact on the world. Through engaging speakers, film screenings and discussions, it seeks to foster critical thinking, broaden perspectives and cultivate a deeper appreciation for the power of language and storytelling.
Four upcoming events are featured over the next month.
This Friday, Feb. 21 at 3:30 p.m. in Cowgill 102, Brenna Pye, public historian and assistant director for programs and engagement at the Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies at the University of Kentucky, will speak on “Black Education in Lexington: Enslavement to Integration.”
On Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. in Carrick Theater, Natalie Maynard, costume cutter/draper for the Department of Theater and Dance at the University of Kentucky, will present “An air of decided fashion: Exploring Regency Dress in Pride and Prejudice.” Transylvania University is presenting playwright Kate Hamill’s bold and timely version of the classic Feb. 26-March 2 in Little Theater. Reserve free tickets.
On March 5 at 3:30 p.m. in Cowgill 102, public historian Yvonne Giles will speak on Lexington’s Underground Railroad monument, scheduled to be installed this summer near Transylvania’s campus.
Finally, on March 19 at 5 p.m. in the William T. Young Campus Center Pioneer Rooms C&D, the initiative will host a screening of “Raavan,” a 2010 film retelling of the Indian epic the Ramayana, will be held. Students are asked to sign up for the screening.
In June 2023, Transylvania University received $250,000 from a joint endeavor between the Teagle Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities to help students engage with literature, philosophy and history. Transylvania’s initiative will ensure that students gain confidence in approaching and discussing transformative texts, those classic and contemporary works that span borders and reflect the diversity and complexity of the human experience.