Fall 2024

Black by Design

School of Art and Design

The Black by Design Symposium is a thought-provoking exploration into the diverse landscape of graphic design through the lens of African American heritage and creativity. This one-day event will highlight the significant contributions of Black designers, address sociopolitical and cultural issues inherent in design practices, and foster meaningful dialogue. The collaborative conversations in this event aim to ideate and drive positive change for the future of the design industry.

Border Stories

School of Art and Design

Border Stories is a panel discussion on the impact of family separation due to parental deportation, coinciding with San Diego and Tijuana's designation as the World Design Capital in 2024 and the SDSU RE:BORDER conference. Featuring individuals who have lived this experience and facilitators who have supported them, the discussion will center on Yolanda Varona Palacios's children's book La Luciérnaga y Sus Estrellas Fugaces, published by SDSU Press.

Spring 2025

Reality vs. Illusion:
Telling Truth from Fiction in Media

School of Theatre, Television, and Film

The post-show panel discussion will explore the challenge of distinguishing truth from fiction in media, following a performance of Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author. The modernist masterpiece questions the instability of individual perception that, timed for post-November 2024 election discussion of disinformation, will examine how perception of truth is shaped. This free panel will feature faculty from SDSU Departments of Sociology, Journalism, and Philosophy.

Hamlet

School of Theatre, Television, and Film

The April 2025 SDSU performance of Hamlet features a majority female-identifying cast, inspiring a compelling focus on identity and trauma response. This interdisciplinary post-show conversation will explore themes of mental health and feminism by exploring personal and societal traumas in Hamlet from psychological perspectives, delving into the protagonist's fragmented psyche and the complex world of the play.

University Dance Company

School of Music and Dance

As part of their annual University Dance Company performance, SDSU dance majors will perform ESTELA, choreographed by Tijuana-based dance artist Briseida López Inzunza. Following the performance, SDSU Department of Dance faculty, López-Inzunza, and Professor Victoria González-Rivera will discuss Latin American women's fight for justice and its parallels to US women's rights. This free event o ers a unique exploration of activism through dance.

Cultural Dimensions of Media

School of Theatre, Television, and Film

Exploring how San Diego is depicted or generalized in Hollywood films, this event aims to uncover a counterhistory of local cinema. Featuring a student-curated set of independent  lms, including those by Latino, Black, Asian American, and Indigenous Filmmakers with diverse perspectives of the region. Juxtaposed with mainstream/traditional images, this event illustrates the gap between San Diego as a brand and as a home.

Rent

School of Theatre, Television, and Film

This interdisciplinary panel conversation uses a contemporary lens to explore RENT’s themes of addiction, LGBTQ+ rights, and loss. With prestigious guest artists and faculty panelists from the SDSU Departments of Theatre and Public Health, the panel will focus on the intersection of race, HIV/AIDS and addiction. This free panel will take place in the weeks leading up to the SDSU production of RENT.