The year 2017 will occasion a range of commemorative activities on campus in recognition of various noteworthy historical anniversaries. The university, of course, will celebrate its bicentennial, while the Residential College will proudly mark its 50th year. Indeed, reaching this milestone provides a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the RC’s evolution and its many accomplishments over this half-century. We can gain valuable perspective on this milestone by recalling something of the intellectual and political moment from which the RC emerged. Pivotal developments of that year that shocked and shaped the world in 1967 continue to have enduring impacts today. This talk will suggest the value in reconsidering selected events of that momentous year—including the Arab-Israeli War, the Detroit Rebellion, and Martin Luther King’s speech, “Beyond Vietnam”—and use this to offer some thoughts on the unfolding of intellectual and political currents since 1967.

Dr. Ward is Associate Professor of Afroamerican and African Studies and Associate Professor of Residential College, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts