Centre for the Study of Women and Gender Events

For information on the speakers and abstracts, see here.

You are warmly invited to join us for a face to face seminar on

Ambiguities in Black: Black feminism and the transracialism discourse

featuring Dr Alanah Mortlock (King's College London)

Abstract:

When Rachel Dolezal was “outed” as white during a local news television interview in 2015, a new social category exploded into popular cultural and academic discourses: transracial. This story – the scandalous demise of an NAACP Chapter President who identifies as Black whilst having been born to and raised by Caucasian parents – captured the public and scholarly imagination and precipitated a flurry of media and academic engagement with questions of identity fluidity and Black authenticity. Much of this work sets out to argue that Rachel Dolezal either is or is not Black, a debate that has often evolved into a broader consideration of whether it is possible to become Black. My research project, Ambiguities in Black, thus argues that the discourse about “transracialism” is best understood as a struggle over our popular and scholarly definitions of Blackness. Responding to this struggle, I ask: what does this discourse that emerged in the wake of the Rachel Dolezal transracialism scandal do to ways of talking and thinking about Blackness?

This question of what Blackness is and how we might know whether someone is Black is long contested and of vital importance to critical race theorists and scholars of Blackness, as well as anti-racist political actors. By analysing the post-Dolezalian transracialism discourse, my project produces answers as to the assumptions and logics about racialisation and Black identities circulating and structuring this popular media and academic discussion, and the ways in which the discourse can be seen to complicate, alleviate, or exaggerate rising tensions in our cultural, political, and theoretical dialogue on racial identity.

Speaker Bio:

Alanah Mortlock is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the School of Education, Communication and Society at King’s College London. Her current project seeks to put histories of Black British feminism in conversation with contemporary African-American Black Studies, and in particular the discourse of Black metaphysics. Her doctoral research, completed at the LSE Department of Gender Studies, analysed how academic and popular discourses of “transracialism” interact with theorisations of Blackness, engaging a critical lens invested in Black feminist and trans scholarship and politics. Her research interests include Black (and) trans feminisms; theorisations of Blackness; racial liminality; theories and critiques of identity; Black anti-humanism; and feminist epistemologies and methodologies.

This event is free and open to all, but advance registration is required.

To register for a place, CLICK HERE.

Refreshments will not be provided, but you are very welcome to bring your lunch and eat it during the seminar.

If you have any questions about the event, please email cswg-events@warwick.ac.uk

If you have accessibility requirements or there are any adjustments we can make to support your full participation, you can let us know through the booking page above.

This event is being organised by the Black Feminist Thought Group and the Centre for the Study of Women and Gender

We are excited to invite you to join our Black Feminist Thought Group, open to all students and postgraduate researchers at all levels who are interested in or are already actively engaging with Black feminist scholarship, practice and creative work.

This group will be more than a traditional reading group. Inspired by the core principles of Black feminist thought—collective growth, intersectionality and radical imagination—we’ll create a collaborative space that welcomes a range of materials, voices and forms of expression.

The group will run once a month for a 2-hour session on the dates below.

• Friday, October 17th, 2pm, S1.69
• Friday, November 14th, 2pm, S1.69
• Friday, December 12th, 2pm, S1.69

The group is led by Marie Casafina-Orwin and Diana Olaleye.

Whether you’re already engaged in Black feminist work or just starting to explore it, you’re welcome to join.

If you're interested in joining or want to hear more, you can register here. If you have any questions, you can email Marie at marie.casafina-orwin@warwick.ac.uk

This term, CSWG will be running a full-day doctoral training workshop on Producing Feminist Research, aimed at PhD students from across all Warwick departments and faculties, and all stages of the PhD process, who are using feminist approaches in their doctoral work.

The aim of the workshop, facilitated by Prof. Maria do Mar Pereira, is to provide an interdisciplinary space in which to discuss the challenges (theoretical, epistemological, methodological, etc.) of producing feminist research. The training day will NOT be composed of conventional lectures on feminist theories or methods. Instead, we will work in a small group to share our experiences of conducting feminist research and to exchange constructive feedback and advice on feminist dilemmas relating to writing, fieldwork and other aspects of the doctoral research process.

This face-to-face workshop will run on Wednesday, December 17th, from 10.00 to 16.30, and will be divided into 3 sections:

• Theoretical, Methodological and Ethical Dilemmas in Feminist Research
• The Affective and Embodied Experience of Writing a Feminist Thesis
• The Feminist Politics and Ethics of Producing Literature Reviews

Participants will be asked to do a small amount of preparation work in advance of the workshop. This will include completing a short and simple writing exercise (up to 200 words) and reading one or two short texts for discussion.

We will pause for lunch but lunch is not provided, so please bring your own lunch to eat with us. (You are also welcome to leave the room during the lunch break and eat elsewhere.) You will have access to a kitchen, fridge and microwave. We will provide fruit and sweet snacks to enjoy during lunch and throughout the day.

The workshop is free and open to all PhD students at Warwick, but places are limited. To register for a place, click HERE.

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If you have any questions about the event, please email Maria on m.d.m.pereira@warwick.ac.uk 

If you have accessibility requirements or there are any adjustments we can make to support your full participation, you can let us know through the booking page above.

For information on the speakers and abstracts, see here.

For information on the speakers and abstracts, see here.