At the next Critical Antiquities Workshop, we have the pleasure of holding a book launch for Sarah Derbew (Stanford University) and her book, Untangling Blackness in Greek Antiquity (Cambridge, 2022).
Joining Sarah Derbew at the event will be discussants Alastair Blanshard (Classics, University of Queensland) and Nicole Spigner (African American Studies, Northwestern University).
The event will take place on Zoom on Thursday, June 1, 9:30-11am (Sydney time). Here is the time in other locations:
* New York: Wednesday, May 31, 7:30pm
* Chicago: Wednesday, May 31, 6:30pm
* Mexico City: Wednesday, May 31, 5:30pm
* Los Angeles: Wednesday, May 31, 4:30pm
* Beijing/Singapore/Perth: Thursday, June 1, 7:30am
* Tokyo: Thursday, June 1, 8:30am
* Adelaide: Thursday, June 1, 9am
The workshop discussion will especially focus on the Introduction and Chapter 2 of the book, PDFs of which will be circulated to registrants of the meeting, along with a discount code for those wishing to purchase the book.
To register, please sign up for the Critical Antiquities Network mailing list here: https://signup.e2ma.net/signup/1930251/1916146/
Here is the book’s blurb:
How should articulations of blackness from the fifth century BCE to the twenty-first century be properly read and interpreted? This important and timely new book is the first concerted treatment of black skin color in the Greek literature and visual culture of antiquity. In charting representations in the Hellenic world of black Egyptians, Aithiopians, Indians, and Greeks, Sarah Derbew dexterously disentangles the complex and varied ways in which blackness has been co-produced by ancient authors and artists; their readers, audiences, and viewers; and contemporary scholars. Exploring the precarious hold that race has on skin coloration, the author uncovers the many silences, suppressions, and misappropriations of blackness within modern studies of Greek antiquity. Shaped by performance studies and critical race theory alike, her book maps out an authoritative archaeology of blackness that reappraises its significance. It offers a committedly anti-racist approach to depictions of black people while rejecting simplistic conflations or explanations.
We look forward to seeing you there.
