Media contact: Noelle Lemoine, communications assistant; tele: (413) 597-4277; email: [email protected]
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., September 21, 2018—Comedian Negin Farsad, author Reza Aslan, and writer Alicia Garza will explore the topic of free speech and intolerance during a roundtable discussion at Williams College. Moderated by Jamelle Bouie, Slate’s chief political correspondent, the discussion will take place on Thursday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. in the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance. The event is free and open to the public.
Farsad is the host of the political comedy podcast “Fake the Nation” and has been a panelist for NPR’s “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me.” She recently released a satirical book titled How to Make White People Laugh, which was nominated for the Thurber Prize for Humor. As an Iranian-American Muslim female comedian and filmmaker, Farsad uses humor to address the racial, religious, social, and immigrant gap. The Wall Street Journal calls her work “smart, funny, and fascinating.”
Aslan is the author of God: A Human History, and Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, a current #1 on The New York Times bestseller list. In his work, he addresses topics of Islam, the Middle East, and Muslim Americans. In addition to his writing, Aslan has produced several TV series, including The Leftovers, The Secret Life of Muslims, and Rough Draft with Reza Aslan. Currently, he is a professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside.
Garza is one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter Global Network and at the forefront of the Black Lives Matters movement. Her articles and interviews have been published in Time, Mic, Essence, and several others. Through her work and writings, Garza aims to build a movement at the intersections of race, gender, and economic justice. Currently, she works as a strategy and partnerships director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance, which advocates fairness for domestic workers in the United States.
The discussion will be moderated by Jamelle Bouie, a former political analyst for CBS News. While at CBS, Bouie regularly contributed to the weekly roundtable discussion on Face the Nation. Currently, Bouie is the chief political correspondent for Slate, and his writings have appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The New York Times, TIME and The New Yorker.
This event is sponsored by the Class of ’71 Public Affairs Forum and the Lecture Committee.
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