Blake Burleson To Discuss Unconscious Prejudice Feb. 28

Dr. Blake Burleson, lecturer in religion and director of the African Studies program at Baylor University, will discuss "Dark Continent: A Typological Projection" as part of the John Jonsson Peace and Justice Lecture Series. Burleson's talk will begin at 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28, in the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center on the Baylor campus.
"This whole lecture series is an examination of prejudice at an unconscious level," Burleson said. "Even though Africa has entered the modern world, Americans continue to think about it as the Dark Continent. We have certain projections about Africa that may not be true. For example, if you were to ask a sixth grader for words that describe Africa, you would probably hear words like lions, jungles, savages, spears. Where do these projections come from?"
John Jonsson, for whom the lecture series is named, is professor of religion at Baylor. A native of South Africa, he served as minister of the Central Baptist Church of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, and co-founded Treverton College, a private interracial institution in South Africa. He openly protested apartheid and in 1977, he was a candidate for the South African Parliament. He began his tenure at Baylor in 1992.
Burleson's lecture is open to the public. Tickets are $10.
For more information, call 710-4215.