In her trenchant analysis of U.S. history, literary critic and Black feminist scholar Hortense Spillers considers the aftermath of the notion of partus sequitur ventrem—the “American ‘innovation’ that proclaimed that children born of an enslaved mother would also be enslaved.” In this lecture, Spillers engages the idea of the “shadow” family to explain one of the tectonic shifts in the concept and practice of social relations in the New World from the 18th century—a period of profound contradiction and change when dangerously hegemonic definitions of race, gender, and family took hold—onward.

Registration for this evening's lecture is preferred but not required. Please contact bcrw@barnard.edu for more information.

Professor Spillers will also participate in a Graduate Student/Faculty Theory Salon from 12– 2 PM at the Institute for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Columbia University. Space is limited and reservations are required. Space at the salon is limited, please contact irwgs@columbia.edu for additional information.

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