For Jean Ntakirutimana, cultural moments that connect scholarship to community are more important than ever.<\/p>\n
As Brock University honours Black History Month\/African Heritage Month (BHM\/AHM)<\/a>, the Associate Professor of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures (MLLC) is reflecting on the deep impact of culturally immersed learning.<\/p>\n \u201cGathering in community to learn and collectively experience culture, past and present, brings depth to our academic work and offers a critical hands-on opportunity for students \u2014\u00a0indeed everyone \u2014 to expand their world views,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The Brock and wider communities will have the opportunity to do just that at a BHM\/AHM screening of the film FANON<\/em> at the Film House, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre<\/a> on Friday, Feb. 13. The screening will be followed by a masterclass led by the film\u2019s director, Jean-Claude Barny, addressing the history and impact of colonial violence.<\/p>\n The biopic, which premiered in Canada at last year\u2019s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), follows the experiences of Frantz Fanon, a Black French Caribbean psychiatrist and freedom fighter who worked in Algeria at the beginning of the country\u2019s fight for independence.<\/p>\n Attendees will hear first-hand from the celebrated director about the making of the movie, his career and French\/Caribbean cultural background.<\/p>\n Ntakirutimana said in today\u2019s context of attacks on anti-racism initiatives and the erasure of equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization (EDID) models, FANON<\/em> offers a history that sheds light on colonial systems and how they can be dismantled.<\/p>\n \u201cFanon used innovative methods to help treat mental illness in patients caused by colonial violence. To Fanon, patients were human during a time when many considered colonized people to be \u2018animals\u2019 or sub-human,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n For Ntakirutimana, having Brock students, staff and faculty gather with community members to experience the film together and engage in critical discussion is significant.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a sign of our strength and collective desire to grow together, strengthening a vital bridge between academia and community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The evening is presented in partnership with Brock University’s Social Justice Research Institute, the Human Rights and Equity Office and community partner SOFIFRAN (Solidarit\u00e9 des femmes et familles interconnect\u00e9es francophones du Niagara).<\/p>\n David Vivian, Associate Professor and Scenographer, Department of Dramatic Arts, echoes Ntakirutimana that collaboration between many on-campus partners and community organizations speaks to the power of working together.<\/p>\n \u201cThis opportunity brings us contemporary scholarship, critical thinking and cultural production that works against the maintenance of supremacist models and systems of suppression and control. It will be meaningful for many in our community and of special interest to our students interested in film, pop culture, psychology, psychiatry, political philosophy, post-colonial studies, social justice and the arts,\u201d Vivian said.<\/p>\n Building on the partnership with SOFIFRAN<\/a>, an exhibition at Brock\u2019s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) will open the same day as the screening celebrating BHM\/AHM.<\/p>\n