Finding Your Place: Identity, Belonging, and Storytelling

Das sagt der/die Veranstalter:in:

Please join us for a talk and discussion on identity, culture, and power with author and academic Shannon Gibney.‌

A growing number of young people today are navigating life between different identities, cultures, and expectations. At the same time, questions of representation, and belonging are becoming increasingly important in schools, media, and society. What does it mean to live “in between”? And how can storytelling help us better understand ourselves and others?

This event takes Shannon Gibney's award-winning book The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be as a point of departure and brings together literary storytelling and personal reflection. Combining elements of memoir and imagination, Gibney explores the experience of growing up as a Black adoptee in a white family while searching for a sense of identity and belonging. Through her talk and the following discussion, she offers insights into the power of embracing complexity and the creative possibilities of “in-between” spaces.

Shannon Gibney is a professor in the English Department at Minneapolis Community and Technical College in Minnesota and an award-winning author and editor of novels, anthologies, picture books, and young adult literature. Among her best-known works are The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be (2024), We Miss You, George Floyd (2024), and Dream Country (2018).

Seats are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. We kindly ask you to only reserve the number of tickets that you will definitely use.

You do not need to print out your Eventbrite ticket. The name under which you reserved your tickets will suffice to enter.

The venue is wheelchair accessible.

This event is kindly supported by the Federal Foreign Office.