SwatTalks

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SwatTalks is an Alumni Council program that brings the talent and expertise of Swarthmore alumni, faculty, and staff to the greater College community through free, virtual seminars. Each SwatTalk lasts one hour and is available through Zoom. SwatTalk sessions will be recorded as permitted by the presenters.

 

Upcoming SwatTalks:

"Photography and the Black Freedom Movement” with Summer Sloane-Britt ‘16

FebRUARY 25 AT 8 P.M. ET

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was at the cutting edge of the Black Freedom Movement in the 1960s, leading lunch counter sit-ins, spearheading the Freedom Rides, and organizing voter registration campaigns throughout the South. Less well-known, but no less important, was SNCC’s Photography Department, which took an equally cutting-edge approach to documenting—and making the public aware of—the freedom struggle. Art historian Summer Sloane-Britt ’16 has written extensively about SNCC’s Photography Department and how it both facilitated an innovative application of the medium and created a crucial visual repository chronicling student organizing and Black Southern Life. As part of Black History Month and in partnership with the Swarthmore Black Alumni Network, please join Summer for a conversation about the history of SNCC’s Photography Department, the importance of visual storytelling in political activism, and the relevance and resonance of SNCC’s photographs today.


 Register for "Photography and the Black Freedom Movement” with Summer Sloane-Britt ‘16

 

“How Parents Can Motivate Their Kids in School” with Rebecca Winthrop ‘96

MARCH 25 AT 8 P.M. ET

Even before the Covid pandemic, American adolescents were struggling in school. Since the pandemic, things have gotten worse. When the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as “The Nation’s Report Card,” was released earlier this year, it showed that reading and math scores for fourth and eighth graders are at their lowest levels in decades.

For much of her career, Rebecca Winthrop ’96, the director of the Center for Universal Education at Brookings, has been investigating why so many children lose their love of learning in adolescence. Now, in her new book The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better (co-authored with Jenny Anderson), Rebecca offers a go-to guide, for both students and their parents, for how to get kids excited about school again.

Please join Rebecca for a conversation about the crisis in American education; the modes of learning that students use to navigate through the shifting academic demands and social dynamics of middle school and high school; and simple yet effective strategies that parents can employ to better connect with their children and ignite their love of learning.

Registration Coming Soon

Watch Recordings of Past SwatTalks

 

Accommodations & Questions 

If you require accommodations to participate in this webinar, please contact alumni@swarthmore.edu at least 24 hours in advance for assistance.

If webinars are permitted to be recorded, they will be made available on the SwatTalks recordings page at a later time.

If you have any technical difficulties with Zoom, please contact help@swarthmore.edu.

Speaker Recommendations

To suggest a future panelist, please use our recommendation form.