Theorizing Black Studies: Gender and Race in American History
Overview
Event dates: April 16–17, 2010
The History Department, in conjunction with the Frederick Douglass Institute and the Susan B. Anthony Institute, has organized a two-day conference to parallel the launch of a new book series sponsored by the University of Rochester Press (URP): Gender and Race in American History. Building on the rich history of political and social activism in New York State, the Gender and Race in American History series publishes scholars who use the analytical categories of gender and race—broadly defined&mdas;to illuminate power, identity, culture, citizenship rights, work, education, and reform in the U.S. It encourages the study of interrelated factors such as religion, class, region, and sexuality, while focusing on the complex interconnections of race and gender. The series also promotes transnational and global perspectives on American history and culture. The "Gender and Race in American History" conference will help bring more attention to the series and will stimulate collaboration and discussion among humanities students and scholars around the country.
The conference will produce something of lasting and broad impact—a collected volume of essays to be published in the new series. Planned for April 16-17, 2010, the conference will feature panels on the intersections between gender and race in the lives of nineteenth and twentieth-century Americans from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including history, religion, fine arts, English, and women’s studies. Advanced graduate students, junior scholars and established scholars have been invited to submit papers that use the analytical categories of gender and race in America. These scholars will be joined by this year’s Frederick Douglass Lecturer, Deborah Gray White, the Board of Governors Professor of History at Rutgers University and a renowned historian of the African-American experience. In addition, Michele Mitchell, Associate Professor at New York University and a prominent African-American Women’s historian, will deliver the Two Icons Lecture celebrating the lives of Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony. Together faculty, students, community members, and distinguished speakers will explore and celebrate crucial issues at the intersection of race and gender.