Gender, ‘Race’ and Performance: Re-visiting the Black Atlantic
2018 marked the 25th anniversary of the publication of Paul Gilroy’spioneering The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness(Cambridge University Press).
This conference aims to commemorate and dialogue with Gilroy’s seminal study, one that continues to serve as a reference point for scholars working on the intersection of the African diaspora, cultural production and issues of identity.
The event will foreground the ongoing contribution of Modern Languages to studies of the Black Atlantic, encouraging approaches that privilege linguistic sensitivity and are open to multilingual understandings.
Furthermore, this conference aims to build on Gilroy’s ground-breaking study by specifically addressing the issue of gender and female performance, and by extending the focus from the Northern Hemisphere to embrace
lesser-explored south-south cultural dialogues and exchanges beyond theAnglophone worlds.
The conference will bring together scholars working in Francophone, German, Lusophone and Hispanic Studies, as well as African diaspora studies and Anglophone literary and historical studies, and will advance discussions of the construction and performativity of ‘race’ in a trans-Atlantic context from a comparative perspective.
The conference will take place at the 502 Teaching Hub, University of Liverpool over 11th and 12th June. Full conference programme to follow.
Keynote speakers:
Dr. Mónica Moreno Figueroa, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of Cambridge
Dr Moreno Figueroa’s research has primarily developed around three areas: the lived experience of ‘race’ and racism; feminist theory and the interconnections between beauty, emotions and racism; visualmethodologies and applied research collaborations. She has focussed onMexico and Latin America more broadly. The interest in researching the’qualities’ of the lived experience of racism, has taken her to the study of the everyday, the relevance of emotions and affect, as well as issues around visibility and embodiment. Now she is exploring issues ofinstitutional and structural racism as well as the challenges for anti-racist action in mestizo (racially mixed) contexts.
Professor Carol Tulloch, writer, curator and Professor of Dress, Diaspora and Transnationalism at the University of the Arts London (UAL), based at Chelsea College of Arts.
Professor Tulloch is a member of the Transnational Art, Identity and Nation Research Centre, and Chelsea College of Arts/V&A Fellow in Black Visual and Material Culture at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire of Jamaican parents, Carol trained as a fashion and textiles designer at Epsom College of Art and Design, and Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, and completed the V&A/RCA MA in the History of Design. These personal and professional experiences are the foundation of Carol’s research practice on the styled black body, extensively explored in her 2016 Bloomsbury monograph The Birth of Cool: Style Narratives of the African Diaspora. This expanded on her research as principle investigator of the Dress and the African Diaspora Network, and the V&A exhibition Black British Style.
The conference has been co-organised by the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of Liverpool and the Institute for Black Atlantic Research, University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN). It is supported by a Regional Conference Grant from the Institute of Modern Languages Research and the Centre for the Study of International Slavery (CSIS) at the University of Liverpool.
Accommodation
There are plenty of hotels to choose from in Liverpool City Centre. We have put together a list of popular hotels in Liverpool with links to book directly.
Performance
On Wednesday 12th June there will also be a performance for The Jubilee Stompers, a 5 piece bought together in their mutual love and fascination of early jazz music.
Conference Dinner
There will be a conference dinner on Tuesday 11th June at 7pm at Frederiks Hope Street. Dinner costs £19.95 per person and includes two courses. If you wish to attend the dinner, please register here.
More Liverpool Listings MORE
The Greatest Hits of Motown – How Sweet It Is
The ULTIMATE celebration of the sweet sound of Motown. Let’s Get Ready… to Go Loco, Down in Acapulco….
Julian Taylor
After 25 years in music, building an unimpeachable reputation as a truly independent artist and entrepreneur, Julian Taylor…
The Four Tops, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas & Tavares
This September will see Motown legends Four Tops and Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, together with Tavares come together to Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena…
The Real Thing
The Real Thing are back! Original vocalists Chris Amoo and Dave Smith go on tour with their first new album…
Lady Nade Sings Nina Simone
Renowned for her distinctive and award-winning vocal prowess, Lady Nade possesses one of the most singular voices in…
Queen of the Night – A Tribute to Whitney Houston
After selling 100,000 tickets last year with its theatre tour, including sold-out shows at the Royal Albert Hall,…
Guy Davis
Multi-instrumentalist Guy Davis is a two-time, back-to-back Grammy nominee for Best Traditional Blues, musician, actor, author, songwriter, so…
Seckou Keita
After the success of African Rhapsodies, Seckou Keita returns to his roots with his new album, Homeland. In this…