Gonzaga professor to talk about race in storytelling

Gonzaga professor Jessica Maucione will be at the Grand Coulee Library on Monday, Nov. 19 at 6 p.m., making a free presentation titled "Writing in the Margins, Transforming the Stories We Tell About Race."

"Humans have evolved and maintained our integrity as a species because of our ability to collectively create and tell stories," a description of the event reads. "But what happens when those stories divide, segregate, and even encourage violence among us? In this talk, professor Jessica Maucione discusses texts that celebrate and explore white characters, in contrast to - and at the expense of - black and brown characters whose dehumanization is sometimes blatant, but often incredibly subtle. She talks about ways we can seek out narratives that counter this white-centered approach, with the goal of making us more responsible consumers of dominant narratives, better role models, and more connected human beings."

Maucione has a PhD from Washington State University and currently teaches at Gonzaga University. She teaches contemporary multi-ethnic texts and employs anti-racist pedagogy in courses on race, place, displacement, gender, sexuality, and class in literature and film.