The OSU Center for Folklore Studies is helping to sponsor African American performance artist Robbie McCauley, who will be coming to OSU Winter 2009. McCauley will present "Pieces of Sugar," where she brings together storytelling, social commentary, and interactive dialogue on the subject of diabetes and health care disparities. She plays sugar as a metaphor and a reality related to race, class, gender, and health. Both poignant and humorous, the performance reflects her work in residence at Ohio State University and with local Columbus groups active in the education and care for individuals and families with diabetes. Her performance will be pedagogical, teaching ways to access and to explore the overlaps between storytelling and social action. Her focus on personal narratives and vernacular knowledge about health makes her visit particularly relevant to the fields of folklore, narrative studies, and health care professionals.
While she is in Columbus, Ms. McCauley also plans to do some 'talking about race' workshops with students, teachers, and other interested parties. Carrying through on this theme, she will conduct "story circles" with health professionals and diabetic residents of the near east side of Columbus to exchange ways of expanding outreach for prevention and care of diabetes.
Contact Sheila Bock, sheila.bock@univ.edu, for further information about this event.