What makes us human? How do we define the Other?
These are questions that fascinate me greatly, particularly because of my own growing interest in zombies, but also because of my obsession with understanding language and discourse as behaviors and practices in societal context.
I'd like to invite you to join me and a panel of 6 others from the Greater Philadelphia area as we discuss these and other queries on humanity in an experimental, interdisciplinary public conversation on Thursday, April 28, 7:30pm at Swarthmore College.
I'd like to invite you to join me and a panel of 6 others from the Greater Philadelphia area as we discuss these and other queries on humanity in an experimental, interdisciplinary public conversation on Thursday, April 28, 7:30pm at Swarthmore College.
Morality, Race, |  |
Panelists to include: |
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Bringing the Panel Together: <Jess Wright> calls them "Medieval MRIs"
How did this panel come together? Well, about a month ago, I had the tremendous fortune of meeting Classics specialist Jess Wright while visiting Princeton for a workshop. A mutual friend introduced us over mint tea, and the rest was history. Literally. We talked about how people conceptualized other humans in the past, and she began telling me about her research on medieval understandings of the brain.
Jess described how her work connected to early Christian conceptions of deviance and the Other, and where in the brain and body 4th century Europeans assumed our capacities for love, thought, and evil were stored. These were like "medieval MRIs," she added.
Jess described how her work connected to early Christian conceptions of deviance and the Other, and where in the brain and body 4th century Europeans assumed our capacities for love, thought, and evil were stored. These were like "medieval MRIs," she added.
Talking with her enormously expanded my conception of philosophies of the body. I started to think of ways to get Jess over to Swarthmore, so my students could benefit from her insights. Next, I told Jess that I could see direct connections between her research and what I had just learned about phrenology through my class field trip to the Samuel G. Morton Collection at the Penn Museum in March. I told Jess that I've been teaching a seminar on Languages of Fear, Racism, and Zombies.
Paul Mitchell leads us in discussing social and biological conceptions of "race" at the Penn Museum in March.
<Paul Mitchell> Discusses Phrenology:"It was a cutting-edge science..."
It was during our seminar field trip to the Penn Museum that I met forensic anthropologist Paul Mitchell (pictured above right), who led our tour and orientation to the Morton Collection. In explaining how Samuel Morton came to amass his collection of human skulls in the mid-19th century, Paul helped me and my students to understand what the predominant scientific thinking was at the time, and how race, religion, and medicine factor into this.
Paul's discussion of conceptions of social and biological race was so extraordinarily insightful, that thinking back to our experience in the forensic anthropology labs under his guidance, I began to pull together the title themes of our panel discussion planned for 4/28: morality, race, and the body.
Paul's discussion of conceptions of social and biological race was so extraordinarily insightful, that thinking back to our experience in the forensic anthropology labs under his guidance, I began to pull together the title themes of our panel discussion planned for 4/28: morality, race, and the body.
<Emily August> Uncovers Representations of Bodies in Medical Textbooks.
L to R: Lina Mohageb (UPenn), Emily August (Stockton Univ.), Christina Jackson (Stockton Univ.), Jamie A. Thomas (Swarthmore). I met Emily August back in November 2015 after a talk I attended at Stockton University in New Jersey. As it turned out, it was an urban sociology talk by Christina Jackson on the impact of renewal and gentrification on communities as diverse as San Francisco and Atlantic City.
After the Q/A, Emily and I were introduced and she began to tell me about her innovative literary approach to analyzing early Euro-Western medical textbooks. She investigates the ways that bodies are presented and discussed with a view toward these textbooks as literature. Her approach offers an important critique of medicine and the foundational training of physicians, and also connects to notions of scientific racism.
Emily also has additional interests in horror genres, as well as visual and material culture.
After the Q/A, Emily and I were introduced and she began to tell me about her innovative literary approach to analyzing early Euro-Western medical textbooks. She investigates the ways that bodies are presented and discussed with a view toward these textbooks as literature. Her approach offers an important critique of medicine and the foundational training of physicians, and also connects to notions of scientific racism.
Emily also has additional interests in horror genres, as well as visual and material culture.
<Christina Jackson> Addresses the Evolving Impact of Gentrification.
Urban sociologist Christina Jackson speaking at Stockton University on November 12, 2015.
Talking with Christina Jackson about the changing landscapes of historic American cities such as San Francisco, I have come to more deeply regard the effects of gentrification on the identities of residents and their neighborhoods. Importantly, her fieldwork among African American residents of San Francisco charts the experience of race, class, and enduring inequality in a way that extends our understanding of the body. In fact, she sees city residents going up against developers as "bodies in protest," and encourages us to think of more inclusive ways to envision urban redevelopment.
<Krista Thomason> Explores Race, Morality, and Human Rights.
With Krista Thomason (L) at the October 2015 inauguration of Swarthmore College's new president, Valerie Smith. On several occasions now, I've had wonderful conversations with philosopher Krista Thomason about intersections in the way we both study race, gender, and humanity. However, I don't know that I had truly begun to contemplate the notion of morality before talking with Krista.
What is moral? How do we choose wrong from right? These are some of the questions that Krista tackles in her courses, and we've had so much discussing these ideas, that we've even thought about the possibility of co-teaching one day in the future! This week, I'm looking forward to our discussion as a way of bringing our perspectives into closer dialogue.
What is moral? How do we choose wrong from right? These are some of the questions that Krista tackles in her courses, and we've had so much discussing these ideas, that we've even thought about the possibility of co-teaching one day in the future! This week, I'm looking forward to our discussion as a way of bringing our perspectives into closer dialogue.
<Yvonne Chireau> Studies Vodun as Spiritual and Religious Practice.
Yvonne Chireau (center) expresses key points during our seminar discussion of a zombie episode of X-Files. Only two weeks ago, religious studies scholar Yvonne Chireau came together with my seminar in Fear, Racism, and Zombies and students from Micheline Rice-Maximin's course in Haitian literature.
Together, we watched clips from X-Files Season 2 episode 15 "Fresh Bones," which centered on the strange happenings at a U.S. processing center and military installation for Haitian refugees. As the story goes, a key soldier turns up dead, but then resurfaces as a zombie under the control of the Colonel, who repeatedly demonizes the refugees as "Voodoo practitioners." Even as the Colonel repeatedly denies all knowledge of Haitian religious culture, it later becomes clear that he not only knows its power, but also practices it for his own evil gain.
After reviewing this X-Files episode, we embarked on a collective conversation about Vodun as complex spiritual and collective practice. Yvonne helped us to critically explore notions of agency and control of the human body as these relate to our contemporary imaginings of zombies, cyborgs, and cannibals. She reminded us of the African origins of the zombie as in the Bantu concept of nzambi (god, deity, spirit).
Together, we watched clips from X-Files Season 2 episode 15 "Fresh Bones," which centered on the strange happenings at a U.S. processing center and military installation for Haitian refugees. As the story goes, a key soldier turns up dead, but then resurfaces as a zombie under the control of the Colonel, who repeatedly demonizes the refugees as "Voodoo practitioners." Even as the Colonel repeatedly denies all knowledge of Haitian religious culture, it later becomes clear that he not only knows its power, but also practices it for his own evil gain.
After reviewing this X-Files episode, we embarked on a collective conversation about Vodun as complex spiritual and collective practice. Yvonne helped us to critically explore notions of agency and control of the human body as these relate to our contemporary imaginings of zombies, cyborgs, and cannibals. She reminded us of the African origins of the zombie as in the Bantu concept of nzambi (god, deity, spirit).
Stay Tuned for More: Video From the Panel Event
**With all of these wonderful people on the panel this Thursday, why wouldn't you want to join us?! Even more exciting: This is the first time these panelists are meeting each other and having this discussion. Come hang out with us!
If you can't make it, afterwards we'll post video of the discussion online. I'll be sure to make the link available here!
If you can't make it, afterwards we'll post video of the discussion online. I'll be sure to make the link available here!
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