Session: Media and the Shaping of Identities

Have you ever wondered how the things we read and watch cultivate our conception of others? What if we could hack the media and remove stereotypes? In 1949, Black American author James Baldwin developed a theory of deformed American identity that was founded on the media's incomplete categorical representation of people. He argued that if we limited people to labels, then we never fully understand those different from us, and without this understanding, we reinforce oppression against non-mainstream not-fully represented communities.

Every day - in work, in classrooms, in our personal lives - we interact with people from backgrounds different from our own. In this conversation, we'll interrogate the formation of identity categories that we belong to: how are they sufficient? How are they limiting? We'll discuss how conversations we have and the work we do reinforce or subvert these identity categories. We'll also consider solutions: how can we work to circumvent our own internalized biases to meet people where they are; and how can we aim for a fuller understanding of identity labels to shape the way we represent ourselves and others?
 

Lead Sessionist:

Lydia Burleson is Dwight Hall’s Communications and Alumni Engagement Postgraduate Associate. She graduated from Yale College in 2021 with a degree in English and a Nonfiction Creative Writing Concentration. Her academic scholarship and public writing have been concerned with working toward a more inclusive social reality where lived experiences—like her upbringing in poverty in rural Texas—are fully represented in community narratives. 

About YSC Sessions
YSC Sessions invite you into conversation with thought leaders in creative fields, bringing people into dialogue to inspire fresh ideas over a meal.

On confidentiality:
Sessions are safe spaces to gather and exchange diverse perspectives over shared interests. We ask everyone to respect the confidentiality of the conversation and of your fellow Sessionists. For press requests related to YSC Sessions, please contact Director of Marketing & Communications Maurice Harris at maurice.harris@yale.edu.

On COVID safety:
Proof of vaccination (CDC Vaccination Card, photograph of the card, or MyChart vaccination status confirmation) and photo ID required.