hosted by the University of Pittsburgh Library System in partnership with the Center for African Studies.

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

4:00 - 5:30 p.m.

340 Archives & Special Collections Instruction Room, Hillman Library

Registration required (bottom of page)

While most of August Wilson’s plays were set in Pittsburgh, they reach far beyond the three rivers. Join the University of Pittsburgh Library System for a discussion on Wilson’s impact on a local, national, and international level.

A reception with light refreshments will follow.

With panelists...

Dr. Laurence Glasco, Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Pittsburgh

• Laurence Glasco is Associate Professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1962 he received a BA degree from Antioch College and in 1973 a Ph.D. in History from the State University of New York at Buffalo. His master’s thesis described the racial philosophy of the Mexican philosopher, José Vasconcelos, and his dissertation examined the ethnic social structure of Buffalo in the mid-19th century. Since coming to the University of Pittsburgh’s History Department in 1969, he has focused on African American history, both locally and globally. Professor Glasco has studied the history of Black Pittsburgh for the past decade or so. Glasco is currently working on a biography of August Wilson, and appears in the PBS documentary (February 20, 2016) on August Wilson. Glasco is also working on a biography of K. Leroy Irvis, African American Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Glasco’s activities in Pittsburgh’s African American community go beyond teaching and research. For his community work, he received several awards in 2009, notably the Pittsburgh Courier’s “Men of Excellence” award and the YWCA’s “Racial Justice Award,” and “Talk” magazine’s “Black History Merit Award.” Glasco also served on the advisory committee to restore the New Granada Theater in the Hill, delivered a lecture at the Economic Mini-Summit on Black Empowerment and spoke at the opening ceremonies of the K. Leroy Irvis Science Center at CCAC. He works toward preservation of historic Black sites in Pittsburgh and several round-the-world voyages with the Semester at Sea program, and regular visits to Cuba, have helped him place the story of Black Pittsburgh in global perspective.

Dr. Leah Mickens, August Wilson Project Archivist, University of Pittsburgh Library System

• Leah Mickens is the August Wilson Project Archivist at the University of Pittsburgh. She has also done archival work at Boston University’s Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Morehouse College, the King Library and Archives, and the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum and Archives. Leah has a PhD in religious studies from Boston University, a Master of Science degree in digital media from the Georgia Institute of Technology, a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of South Carolina, Columbia, and an undergraduate degree in international studies with Asia concentration from Oglethorpe University. In December 2022, her first book, In the Shadow of Ebenezer: A Black Catholic Parish in the Age of Civil Rights and Vatican II, was published by New York University Press.

Professor Ousmane Sène, Director, West African Research Center; Professor, University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar

• Prof Ousmane Sène was an Associate Professor of American Literature in the Department of English, University of Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, and is currently the Director of the West African Research Center (WARC) in the Senegalese capital. After chairing the Department of English over 10 years (1988-1998) and while still teaching in the same department, he started developing and consolidating his activities in Senegal as a study abroad programs director for several US universities including the University of Minnesota, Michigan State University, Mount Holyoke College, Wells College etc.....  He is one of the most experienced study abroad program managers in Senegal right now. 

  Prof Sène is also the Director of the West African Research Center (WARC) which is the executive branch of the Boston-based learned society, WARA (West African Research Association). WARC is an international non-profit and science-based organization that has built an international reputation in the production and promotion of research and knowledge, as well as a wide network of partners in Africa and throughout the world. WARC is also well known for organizing and hosting very important academic and scientific events of all sorts (panels, conferences, workshops, internationals seminars, book presentations). Lately, the West African Research Center has been identified by the Institute of International Education (State Department, USA) - IEE to serve as the support institution for US Fulbrighters in Africa.

  Professor Sène is a regular contributor to major TV and radio programs in Senegal and with international media such as The Voice of America, New York Times, etc. Prof Sène is recipient of several scholarly and academic distinctions from US and African universities (University of Minnesota, etc). In 2022, he received, in Washington DC, the Visionary Leader Award from the G7 Visionary Leaders Organization recognizing excellence and outstanding achievements in International Education. Professor Sene teamed up with the world acclaimed actress Lupita Nyong’o (14 Years a Slave, Black Panther etc...) for a documentary on Senegalese Teranga, Sufi Islam, Islamo-Christian Dialogue in the country and other social and cultural features of Senegal as part of the Project Africa Eat (Plimsoll Film Production, UK).

Dr. Sandra Shannon, Founder & President, August Wilson Society; Professor Emerita of African American Literature, Howard University

• Sandra G. Shannon, PhD, is professor emerita of African American literature in the Department of English at Howard University. She is widely acknowledged as a major scholar in the field of African American drama and the leading authority on playwright August Wilson. Dr. Shannon is currently President of the August Wilson Society, Dean of the College of Fellows of American Theater, and PI for the Black Seed-funded project, Centering and Celebrating Wilsonian Warriors.  She is former editor of the College Language Association Journal (CLAJ) and former Scholar-in-Residence at Pittsburgh's August Wilson African American Cultural Center. 

  Dr. Shannon is the author of The Dramatic Vision of August Wilson and August Wilson’s Fences: A Reference Guide, published numerous essays and chapters on Wilson, and served as sole editor of several essay collections, including Modern American Drama: Playwriting in the 1980s and August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle: Critical Perspectives on the Plays. In July 2022, she was the recipient of the Career Achievement Award in Academic Theatre presented by the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE). This award “honors individuals who are known for remarkable scholarly and creative contributions to the field, whose work has passed the test of time with its original thinking, and whose service has proven significant in shaping the field and future of theatre and performance. Awardees are authentic role models to colleagues and students, nurture the careers of others, and are effective champions of diversity and equity in theatre and education.”

  For more information on her list of publications, visit https://works.bepress.com/sandra-shannon/

And moderated by…

Diael Thomas, August Wilson Outreach and Engagement Curator, University of Pittsburgh Library System

• Diael Thomas is the August Wilson Outreach and Engagement Curator in the University of Pittsburgh Library System. Her role entails planning and executing programming for a variety of audiences, providing reference support for researchers, and managing opportunities to work with the collection. Prior to starting this role last August, she was the Diversity Resident in the Pitt Library System. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from UT-Austin and Master of Library and Information Science from Pitt. Diael is a native of Houston, Texas but has dived headfirst into the rich Black history in the Pittsburgh region.

Hillman Library is located at 3960 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15260. Metered on-street parking is available on various streets surrounding the library. Parking is also available at Soldiers & Sailors Parking Garage (.2 miles from the library). Hillman is also accessible by public transportation. See the Pittsburgh Regional Transit website for planning your trip. 

The entrance to the library is located at the Forbes Avenue address, accessed by a ramp leading from street level to the First Floor plaza. Sidewalks around the library are closed as part of library renovation; follow signs to library entrance.

Please email uls-events@pitt.edu with any questions or accessibility accommodation requests.