Sonia Shah - Guest-in-Residence 2/4-2/7

Investigative journalist Sonia Shah will be a Guest-in-Residence at Unit One/Allen Hall 2/4-2/7. She will speaking each night of her residency. All events are open to the public and take place in the South Rec Room of Allen Hall, 1005 W. Gregory, Urbana.

Sonia Shah is an investigative journalist and critically acclaimed author whose writing on human rights, medicine and politics has appeared in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, New Scientist, The Nation and elsewhere. She is the author of The Body Hunters: Testing New Drugs on the World’s Poorest Patients, and Crude: The Story of Oil. Her collection, Dragon Ladies: Asian American Feminists Breathe Fire, continues to be required reading at colleges and universities across the country. Shah’s writing, based on original reportage from around the world, from India and South Africa to Panama, Malawi, Cameroon, and Australia, has been featured on current affairs shows around the United States, as well as on the BBC and Australia’s Radio National. Her television appearances include A&E and the BBC, and she’s consulted on many documentary film projects, from the ABC to Channel 4 in the UK. Shah is currently writing a book on the history and politics of malaria.

Monday, Feb 4

7pm - Opening Program: ON BECOMING a RADICAL JOURNALIST: Culture, Politics, and Independent Journalism
An informal presentation on culture, politics, and independent journalism, exploring the making of Dragon Ladies, Crude, The Body Hunters, and other writings. A 30-minute talk, followed by Q&A.

Tuesday, Feb 5

7pm - CRUDE: Power, Politics, and Oil
A provocative history of the world’s favorite liquid, and the power-hungry, power-less, and power-full people who control it.

8pm - Syriana
Plunge into the world of oil, terrorism, money and power with a showing of Syriana, followed by a discussion led by Sonia Shah, author of Crude: the Story of Oil.

Wednesday, Feb 6

7pm - THE BODY HUNTERS: Experimenting on the World’s Poor
Learn how drug companies have quietly exported their experimental trials to the world’s poorest countries, and the human rights and health impacts on patients across the developing world.

8pm - The Constant Gardener
John Le Carre’s conspiracy story of Big Pharma in Africa, followed by a discussion led by the journalist who uncovered the true story behind Le Carre’s novel, Sonia Shah, author of The Body Hunters: Testing New Drugs on the World’s Poorest Patients.

Thursday, Feb 7

7pm - DRAGON LADIES: Gender and Race in Asia and America
A discussion of gender, race, globalization, and the media.

8pm - Fire
Deepa Mehta’s provocative film—-the first ever about lesbian relationships in India--followed by a discussion led by Sonia Shah, editor of the Asian American feminist anthology, Dragon Ladies: Asian American Feminists Breathe Fire