New York University will host “The Politics and Poetics of Refugees,” a three-day symposium, September 23-25, 20 Cooper Square (between 5th and 6th Streets, 4th and 5th Floors). Subways: 6 (Astor Place), R (8th Street).

The event will draw together scholars and practitioners to explore cultural expression and political activism by refugees and to consider the conventional representations that typically define them. For a complete schedule of sessions, click here.

The keynote address will be delivered by Thomas Keenan, director of Bard College’s Human Rights Project, on Friday, September 24, at 4:30 p.m. Other speakers include: Eliot Borenstein, David Campbell, Susan Bibler Coutin, Anne Cubilié, Ilana Feldman, Sara Green, Nina Ha, Zenia Kish, Jana Lipman, Louisa Schein, April Shemak, Anooradha Siddiqi, Celina Su, and Miriam Ticktin.

The event is free and open to the public, which may call 212.992.9650 or email refugeesymposium2010@gmail.com for more information. Photo ID is required for entry. Reporters interested in attending must RSVP to James Devitt, NYU’s Office of Public Affairs, at 212.998.6808 or james.devitt@nyu.edu.

The symposium is sponsored by several NYU departments and centers: The Humanities Initiative, the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, the Institute for Public Knowledge, the A/P/A Institute, the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality, the Department of English, the Department of Anthropology, the Department of Performance Studies, the Anglophone Project, the Office of the Dean for Humanities, and the Department of Comparative Literature.