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African Shaman Malidoma Patrice Some Will Speak on the Role of Gays and Lesbians in Society

Malidoma Patrice Some -- scholar, shaman, and author of the book Of Water and the Spirit -- will visit the CSU, Chico campus on Monday, March 12. He will present an evening lecture titled "The Gift of the Gatekeepers: The Role and Purpose of Gays and Lesbians in Today's Society."

The lecture will be held in Wismer Theatre, PAC 135, at 7 pm. Some will also participate in a Conversation on Diversity at noon in the University Center, where he will be in a panel discussion with gay, lesbian, and transgender university community members.

Some provides a bridge between two disparate worlds as an elder initiated into the wisdom of the indigenous Dagara culture of West Africa and as a scholar in the Western tradition. In Dagara culture, gays, lesbians, and transgender people play the important shamanic role of keeping the gates between worlds. Some is intrigued and distressed by the homophobic climate of Western culture and is inquiring into the effects on the health of a culture that suppresses its "gatekeepers." He talks about the possibilities for reconceiving the role that gays, lesbians, and transgender people may play in Western communities.

Some holds doctorate degrees in political science and world literature. He travels extensively, teaching workshops to bring the healing wisdom of his culture to the West. Some is now working on a book about gatekeepers.

Both the evening lecture and the afternoon Conversation on Diversity are free and open to the public, thanks to the support of the Council of Arts and Letters, the A.S. Multicultural Council, the Center for Multicultural and Gender Studies, and the Department of Philosophy.