Monday, April 8, 2019
5:30 p.m.
Belk Library and Information Commons, Room 421
As a documentary photographer who engages in long-term collaborations with the communities she photographs, Sarah Stacke’s aim is to tell stories through images. At the core, her projects are concerned with the ways photography can share the stories of communities whose geographic borders were shaped or changed during periods of colonization.
Stacke will speak broadly of her aims and methods as a social documentarian, and then focus in on her most recent projects, “Photos Day or Night: The Archive of Hugh Mangum.” Her book has been featured on NPR, CBS and other press venues. Stacke unearthed the photographic archive of Hugh Mangum, who, like her, told stories of community through photography. But in this case, he was a white photographer in Jim Crow North Carolina who, because he did not discriminate among his clientele, produced a rich archive of the period, one that subverts the political and cultural norms of class and segregation. This work has been featured on NPR, ABCnews, The Financial Times and many other venues.
She graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology and a minor in French in 2002, and received her M.A. from Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies, where she focused on photographic representations of African and African-American communities. Since then she has developed a wide range of documentary projects, and describes her work this way: My work looks at daily life in communities whose geographic borders were shaped during periods of colonization. Often spending time with a community over the course of months or years, she looks at the intersection of culture and memory and questions how land, and the loss of it, shapes identities.
Stacke has won many awards for her work and curated numerous exhibitions. She has written for National Geographic and the New York Times.
This event is sponsored by the Department of Anthropology, Department of Art, Department of History, Department of Sociology and the Humanities Council.
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About the Department of Anthropology
The Department of Anthropology offers a comparative and holistic approach to the study of the human experience. The anthropological perspective provides a broad understanding of the origins as well as the meaning of physical and cultural diversity in the world — past, present and future. Learn more at https://anthro.appstate.edu.
About the Department of Art
One of seven departments housed in the College of Fine and Applied Arts, the Department of Art at Appalachian State University prepares students to explore art, identity, expression and creative problem-solving while challenging them to go beyond their previous limits by discovering new connections to culture. The department offers degrees in art and visual culture, art education, graphic design, studio art, commercial photography and graphic arts and imaging technology, with minors in art history, studio art, commercial photography and graphic arts and imaging technology. Learn more at http://www.art.appstate.edu.
About the Department of History
The Department of History offers a broad curriculum in local, national, regional and world history at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, which encourages history majors to develop a comprehensive approach to human problems. The study of history is an essential part of a liberal arts education and offers valuable preparation for many careers, such as law, journalism, public history, public service and business, as well as in teaching and the advanced discipline of history. Learn more at https://history.appstate.edu.
About the Department of Sociology
The Department of Sociology offers a Bachelor of Arts and six Bachelor of Science concentrations (applied research methods; criminology; deviance and law; families and intimate relationships; gerontology; social inequalities; and individually designed, which requires departmental approval). The department also offers minors in sociology and gerontology, plus two online graduate certificates in gerontology and sociology. Learn more at https://soc.appstate.edu.
About the Humanities Council
Appalachian State University’s Humanities Council provides interdisciplinary opportunities and events on campus throughout the year, promoting the importance of the humanities in relationship to other fields.
Sarah Stacke, "Memory, History, Image, Archive: A Conversation" flyer photo
Sarah Stacke, "Memory, History, Image, Archive: A Conversation" flyer photo