Calendar of Events

Event by McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture
1327 Circle Park Drive, Knoxville, TN

A central aspect of Cherokee worldview is ᎠᏰᎵ ᎦᏙᎬ (ayehli gadogv) or "Standing in the Middle," a philosophy under which humans occupy a role in a web of complex interactions between mutually dependent organisms. Standing in the Middle emphasizes the importance of balance and reciprocity in persisting relationships. Join us for a lecture featuring Dr. Christopher B. Teuton, which is the first in a series of talks that will explore how Standing in the Middle informs ecology, conservation, management practices, epistemology, and science communication in the face of unprecedented anthropogenic (human-caused) change. Light refreshments will be available before the lecture.

About the Lecturer: Christopher B. Teuton (Cherokee Nation) is a scholar of Indigenous oral and written literary studies, community-based cultural heritage and language revitalization work, and fieldwork exploring the perpetuation of Indigenous arts and epistemologies. Teuton is author of Cherokee Stories of the Turtle Island Liars’ Club (University of North Carolina Press, 2012), a collection of forty interwoven stories, conversations, and teachings about Western Cherokee life, beliefs, history, and the art of storytelling. His recently published book, Cherokee Earth Dwellers: Stories and Teachings of the Natural World (University of Washington Press, 2023), co-authored with the late Cherokee Nation leader Hastings Shade, articulates a Cherokee view of nature grounded in Cherokee names for that world as well as stories and reflections of Cherokee elders and knowledge keepers. Teuton is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.

https://www.facebook.com/events/598716219757946/

"The Principle Creation that Brought Us Over:" James Baldwin on Religion, Race, and Love
Thursday, February 6, 2025 6pm

Dr. Tracey E. Hucks is the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Africana Religious Studies at Harvard Divinity School and the Suzanne Young Murray Professor at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. She has served most recently as Provost and Dean of the Faculty at Colgate University where she has been James A. Storing Professor of Religion and Africana and Latin American Studies. Hucks previously taught at Davidson College, where she was the James D. Vail III Professor and chair of the Africana Studies Department and was chair of the Department of Religion at Haverford College. In 1995, she was a resident graduate scholar at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. A graduate of Colgate University, she earned her AM and PhD from Harvard University.

Hucks is the author of Yoruba Traditions and African American Religious Nationalism, published in 2012 and was a finalist for the American Academy of Religion First Book Award and the Journal of Africana Religions Albert J. Raboteau Book Prize. Yoruba Traditions is a comprehensive study of the history of African American Yoruba religious practice in the United States exploring themes of religious nationalism and Africa as a sacred geo-political symbol.

Her most recent book, Obeah, Orisa and Religious Identity in Trinidad: Volume One: Africans in the White Colonial Imagination was published in 2022. In this study, Hucks traces the history of African religious repression in colonial Trinidad through the late nineteenth century. Drawing on sources ranging from colonial records, laws, and legal transcripts to travel diaries, literary fiction, and written correspondence, she documents the persecution and violent penalization of African religious practices encoded under the legal classification of “obeah.”

She is the author of numerous articles on theory and method in Africana religious studies, religion and nationalism, religion and healing in African diaspora religions and has travelled extensively throughout Africa, the Caribbean, Europe and the Americas for her archival and ethnographic research on Africana religious traditions.

John C Hodges Library, Room 100 , 1015 Volunteer Blvd, Knoxville TN
865-974-2466 or https://calendar.utk.edu/event/the-principle-creation-that-brought-us-over-james-baldwin-on-religion-race-and-love

The McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, announces a new exhibition, “Homelands: Connecting to Mounds Through Native Art,” opening to the public on January 25, 2025. The project sets a new standard for collaborative exhibition practices at the McClung and represents the museum's most significant renovation in more than 20 years.

"‘Homelands’ is a defining moment for the McClung Museum. It’s the largest project we’ve undertaken in over two decades, but its impact goes far beyond its scale,” said Claudio Gómez, Jefferson Chapman Executive Director of the museum. “This exhibition has challenged us to rethink how we collaborate, bringing in new perspectives and allowing us to honor Native voices in ways that are both respectful and forward-thinking.”

“Homelands” showcases contemporary art by 17 Native artists to emphasize the enduring ties between Native Nations and Knox County. As a result of the exhibition, the museum has acquired 22 new works for its permanent collection.

https://news.utk.edu/2025/01/07/mcclung-museum-to-open-exhibition-centering-native-voices-and-contemporary-art/

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, 1327 Circle Park Dr on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: Tu-Sa 9-5, Sun 12-4. Information: 865-974-2144, https://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/

Storyteller Laura Still helps you live the stories of pioneers, soldiers, outlaws, and even fictional characters who walked these streets before you.

Knoxville has a rich history full of colorful characters and famous, and infamous, figures whose lives have been the inspiration for books, movies, and works of art. Take a stroll through history in beautiful downtown Knoxville while listening to true tales of the heroes, heels, and hardened criminals that are part of the hidden lore of this unique East Tennessee town.

A portion of the proceeds for downtown tours go to help fund the work of the non-profit Knoxville History Project. Many stories are based on the books and stories of award-winning journalist and writer Jack Neely. Knoxville Walking Tours opens a window to Knoxville’s varied past and leads you on a journey through both hard times and high times of a city growing through over two centuries of history.

Tours include:
• Knoxville: The Early Years
• Misbehaving Women
• Civil War
• Gunslingers
• Musical History
• Literary Heritage
• Side Street Shadows Ghost Tours
• Knoxville Botanical Garden
• Old Gray Cemetery
• Side Street Shadows Ghost Tours

Tour on Your Schedule! Rather than posting a calendar, we’re letting you pick the tour and time — subject to availability. Call (865)309-4522 or visit https://knoxvillewalkingtours.com/