Topics are coming to life in First Year Experience (FYE) courses at the College of Charleston. On Tuesday, September 25, 2012, activist and writer Carol Adams will be on campus talking about “The Sexual Politics of Meat.” She’ll do a free public presentation at 4 p.m. in room 235 of the Robert Scott Small Building, but she’ll also have a discussion with students who are taking the FYE Sociology of Food seminar being taught by Professor Idee Winfield.

“Since the students are reading Carol’s work, this is a wonderful opportunity for them in their first semester at the College,” says Chris Korey, a biology professor and director of the First Year Experience program. “We’d like to see several professors bring in a speaker each semester so this becomes a hallmark of our FYE program—connecting our first-year students to leaders in the fields that they are experiencing through their FYE courses.”

These events are also a way to bring the entire campus into the conversations and ideas that are discussed as part of First Year Experience courses. A goal for this year is to help support larger campus events/talks that are directly connected to the FYE courses offered. View a list of speakers, the courses they are associated with and the faculty members bringing in the speaker.

Adams’ presentation will draw upon images from popular culture and answer the question, “how does someone become a piece of meat?” The Sexual Politics of Meat Slide Show has been presented on campuses across the country. From Oregon to Maine, from experimental schools to universities with slaughterhouses on their campus, the slide show attracts a diverse audience and prompts spirited discussions. The slide show demonstrates how a trinity of interrelated forces–objectification, fragmentation, and consumption–impact our cultural and personal consciousness about women and animals. A vegan reception will follow her presentation. This event is sponsored by FYE and the Women’s and Gender Studies Program.

This event ties is also tied to the College Reads book selection (Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer) as one of the co-curricular events that are being planned to go along with the book during the academic year. Our goals with the events connected to the book are to increase the scope of the conversations about the topics in Eating Animals and show students how these issues connect with many other ideas they are learning about in their courses this year.

For more information, contact Chris Korey at koreyc@cofc.edu or 843.953.7178.