PROVIDENCE – University of Rhode Island, Brown University, and the New School University partner with the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities to present a free one-day conference on the future of research-based journalism and long-form writing, on March 18, 2016, at the University of Rhode Island Feinstein Providence Campus, 80 Washington Street, Providence.
The 2016 Essay in Public Conference entitled The Way We Work Now will bring together humanists, essayists, and journalists interested in reaching the broadest national audience through a variety of media. The conference focuses on best practices in reporting and research about long-term social, ecological, and economic conditions.
It is the first event in a year-long series presented by the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, called What is the 21st Century Essay?, a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Pulitzer Prizes. The Essay in Public project is a collaboration with URI, Brown, and The New School, exploring intersections between the humanities and journalism through the lens of environmental issues.
Conference keynotes include Stephen Henderson, Editorial Editor of The Detroit Free Press, and a 2014 Pulitzer Prize winner for commentary, and Sarah Schweitzer, a features writer from The Boston Globe, and a 2015 finalist for the Pulitzer in Feature Writing.
The day will also include an Ask the Press lunch session with Henderson and Schweitzer and a morning round table with local panelists, including:
Ambar Espinoza, Environmental Reporter, Rhode Island Public Radio
Matthew Pratt Guterl, Professor of American Studies, Brown University
Lucas Mann, Author of Class A: Baseball in the Middle of Everywhere and Assistant Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
Sunshine Menezes, Associate Director of the Office of Marine Programs and Executive Director of Metcalf Institute for Marine & Environmental Reporting at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography.
Kendell Moore, Filmmaker, Associate Professor, University of Rhode Island
Alisha Pina, Statewide Reporter, Providence Journal
The conference’s organizers, Patricia Ybarra (Brown University), Martha Elena Rojas (University of Rhode Island), and Wendy S. Walters (Eugene Lang College, The New School University), will moderate the discussion.
The conference takes place from 9am to 5pm on March 18, 2016, at the URI Feinstein Providence Campus, 80 Washington Street, Providence, RI 02903. The event is free and open to the public. Box lunches are available for purchase. Attendees are asked to register here.
