The Evans School invites you to a seminar with Dr. James M. Thomas (Department of Sociology, University of Mississippi) on Wednesday, May 1st from 11:30-12:30 PM in 360 PAR. Dr. Thomas’s research has been driven by questions within two interrelated fields of inquiry: histories of race and racism, and contemporary practices of race and racism. He employs a variety of interpretive methods to illuminate how meanings of race and racism arise within certain socio-cultural contexts, and how social actors reproduce and contest those meanings in everyday practices and encounters. Dr. Thomas has examined how institutions of higher learning implement diversity initiatives and where these efforts fall short. His most recent project examines whiteness amongst individuals in the American South. This new project seeks to bring into sharp relief the ambivalence, discomfort, and reflections around whiteness that are broadly missing in the sociological study of whiteness. This session is co-sponsored with the Department of Sociology. There will be opportunities to meet with Dr. Thomas during his visit.