Twelfth Annual Sedgwick Lecture
Please join us for
“Who is A Queer Ancestor?”
the Twelfth Annual Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick Lecture in Gender & Sexuality Studies
with
Professor Tavia Nyong’o
April 25th at 5pm
The Howard Thurman Center
808 Commonwealth Avenue
This lecture explores the idea of queer ancestry and the prospects of being a “good ancestor.” It reflects upon the process of memorializing the dead and the risks of secular sainthood. The lecture discusses re-staging a famous encounter between Audre Lorde and James Baldwin, and suggests that ancestor reverence might obscure the productive aspects of conflict in shaping queer history Drawing on the irreverent stance of the late Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina, the lecture proposes a model for decolonizing the ancestral, particularly relevant in the digital era.
Reception to Follow
With thanks to our sponsors:
The Boston University Center for the Humanities, The Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick Foundation, The Departments of English, History, Religion, Romance Studies, Sociology, and World Languages & Literature, and the Programs in African American Studies and Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies, The LGBTQIA+ Center for Faculty & Staff