Co-curricular Event: Kilachand Post-Doctoral Fellow Research Panel

Here is what some of the postdocs have planned to discuss:  Professor Mann:  Professor Mann will discuss two works in progress. The first, an article tentatively titled “Breaking the World: Black Feminism and the Futures of Science Fiction,” examines recent work from N.K. Jemisin and Nnedi Okorafor, both Hugo Award-winning science fiction authors. In this paper, Professor Mann analyzes the narrative and poetic investment in what he terms “world breaking,” the literary process by which the world readers know is figuratively destroyed. The second article, which is currently untitled, scrutinizes the implications of canonization in the feminist classroom. This paper will explore the teaching of a “classic” of feminist pedagogy, positing the importance of drawing lines of continuity between out contemporary moment and the not-so-distant past. In both essays, Professor Mann stresses the importance of black feminist intellectual thought and literary criticism. Professor Masiki: Trent Masiki's research and teaching interests include African American and Afro-Latino literature and culture from 1865 to the present.  Professor Masiki explores how the Afro-Latino presence in the U.S. shapes and challenges conventional notions of African American literature and identity.  In his presentation, Professor Masiki will discuss African American narrative strategies, cultural tropes, mentorships, and political genealogies in the Afro-Latino memoirs of Evelio Grillo, Piri Thomas, Carlos Moore, Veronica Chambers, and Raquel Cepeda. Professor Cannon:  Nissa Ren Cannon’s research investigates the ways encounters with documents shape the identity of early twentieth century travelers and migrants.  Her presentation will focus on the introduction of mandatory passport requirements in 1914, and the representation of—and reaction to--this newly introduced document in literature. Does the passport demand its bearers adhere to a fixed identity, or provide the means to re-write the self? Professor Kim: Joey Kim researches British literature of the nineteenth century with a focus on Romantic poetry and its cultural representations. She will be presenting a brief portion of her developing book project, focusing on how literary representations of the “Orient” change the contours of poetic form and content.