Stories from 2023
Stacy Lynn Waddell (Washington, D.C., 1966) The Dawn of Our Kindred Sower of Parable (for Octavia Butler) 2020 22-karat gold leaf on canvas Stacy Lynn Waddell's portrait celebrates author Octavia E. Butler on a monumental scale, using the allure of a brilliant, untarnished gold surface to draw our attention to her face. The first science fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Genius Award (in 1995) and the first Black woman recognized in this field, Butler was a pioneer. She wrote over fifteen books addressing questions of race, sex, and power. Butler's 1993 book Parable of the Sower envisions a dystopian America of the 2020s, proposing an alternative philosophy to a world of rampant corporate greed, environmental damage, and wealth inequality. (From the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum)
This Just In: A sampling of recent Bates faculty articles (and what they mean)

Friday, January 27, 2023 1:26 pm

From cannibal nihilism in literature to "loan pairs" in molecules, a few recent scholarly articles by Bates professors, including what it all means in easy-to-grasp language.

Bates Dance Festival performance at Lake Andrews on Monday, July 11, 2022. Fist & Heel Performance Group …together, they stood shaking, while others began to shout Mon, July 11, 7 pm Lake Andrews Tickets Available June 1st Join Fist & Heel Performance Group, Bates Dance Festival students and faculty members, and community members from all around Southern and Central Maine in a devised performance using dances from the company’s Shaker-inspired work Power. Fist & Heel Performance Group is a Brooklyn-based dance company that investigates the intersections of cultural anthropology and movement practices and believes in the potential of the body as a valid means for knowing. Our performance work is a continued manifestation of the rhythm languages of the body provoked by the spiritual and the mundane traditions of Africa and its Diaspora, including the Blues, Slave and Gospel idioms. The group has received support from major foundations and corporations and has performed at notable venues in the United States and abroad. In the spirit of building equitable relationships with our community partners, Bates Dance Festival would like to acknowledge the intellectual, creative and administrative labor that Indigo Arts Alliance has contributed to the fulfilment of Reggie Wilson’s residency. We could not have successfully executed community outreach and connections for all of the programs without the expertise of Indigo Arts Alliance.
Bates Dance Festival earns $40K NEA grant

Friday, January 27, 2023 11:49 am

The annual Bates Dance Festival helps to "strengthen arts and cultural ecosystems, provide equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, and contribute to the health of our communities and our economy," said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson.

A peek behind the curtain: Contents of a costume shop

Friday, January 27, 2023 9:00 am

Step into the costume shop, ground zero for the many costumes in the Bates Theater Department's upcoming production of "Much Ado About Nothing" in the first "peek behind the curtain" of the production process.

Bates College announces goal to add eight new permanent faculty positions

Monday, January 23, 2023 1:03 pm

Expanding the Bates faculty “is a matter of central importance to the strength and vitality of our academic program,” said Malcolm Hill, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty.

Picture story: ‘You are the bringer of light and change’

Friday, January 20, 2023 4:18 pm

Immerse yourself in the creative hope and beauty of Martin Luther King Jr. Day through Bates photography and video.

Is it OK to target iconic works of art in the name of social justice? That’s what students from Bates and @morehouse1867 debated at the annual Rev. Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays, Class of 1920, Debate as part of the college’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day programming. Seen above, Chijindum Dike (left) shares a post-debate celebration with John Curry. Both are students from Morehouse College, and traveled to Bates for the debate. The Bates community and friends crowded into the Olin Arts Center for a much-anticipated part of Bates’ Martin Luther King Jr. Day programming: the debate between four students; two from Morehouse, and two from Bates. The tradition honors Mays, who served as the president of Morehouse College for 27 years. King, then a student at Morehouse, referred to Mays as his “spiritual mentor.” Throughout the debate, the students responded to this year’s motion, “This house believes that the targeting of iconic works of art to advance social justice is justified,” and responded to each other and opinions from the audience. Manuel Machorro ’25 of Mexico City, a politics and philosophy double major, opened the debate on the government side with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. “Dr. King said ‘if you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run, then walk, if you can’t walk, then crawl, but by all means, keep moving.’ The claim that we’re gonna make from the government, is that when you’re not listened [to] by anyone, and when the government monopolizes power to destroy you, any way that you see fit is to some capacity justified in pursuing social justice.” Machorro was joined by Dike, a sophomore and double major in psychology and Chinese. The opposition was presented by Curry, a senior and triple major in philosophy, religion, and Chinese, and Andrew Montieth ’24 of Monroe, Wash., a philosophy major. The debaters referenced recent demonstrations, arguing that social justice is furthered by reclaiming spaces and public attention, and the opposition argued that some social activist action diverts attention away from the problem, and onto the targeted object.
Video: ‘Whatever wilderness you wander, you are all creatives’

Friday, January 20, 2023 1:43 pm

Watch some of the highlights of Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Bates: a day full of sharing, from poetry, music, and dance, to ideas about activism, education, and living in community.

Bates Magazine: Fall 2022

Friday, January 20, 2023 1:31 pm

Here's a flip version of the fall 2022 issue of Bates Magazine, which went in the mail last month.

2pm | All These Sons Screening and discussion. Chicago’s West and South sides are infamous for their high murder rates. In this documentary directed by Bing Liu and Joshua Altman, Marshall Hatch Jr. ’10 and Billy Moore (who served 20 years in prison for murder) create healing spaces for young men to reimagine themselves, find redemption, and embrace causes worth fighting for. Hatch, the subject of a cover story by Bates Magazine in 2021, will introduce the film. (2021; 88 min.) Sponsored by the Program in American Studies, Department of Anthropology, Department of Hispanic Studies, and Department of Rhetoric, Film, and Screen Studies. Location: Olin Concert Hall
Bates in the News: Jan. 20, 2023

Friday, January 20, 2023 10:10 am

Marshall Hatch '10 returns to Bates, tips from an alumna on how business leaders can help their teams combat the winter blues, and how Bates President Clayton Spencer has "defined her presidency" around the concept of work.

‘Say yes’: MLK keynote address at Bates College

Tuesday, January 17, 2023 11:48 am

Saying “yes" to the voice inside us that calls for activism, "is your way of speaking your purpose into existence," said Keith Hamilton Cobb, an actor and playwright who delivered the keynote address for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance at Bates College.

Campus Construction Update: Jan. 19, 2023

Tuesday, January 17, 2023 8:57 am

A sophisticated, highly virtuous wood product plays a (literally) central role in the Chase Hall renovation.

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