Anti-Racism and Black Studies (Bonus Episode)

How did Black Studies emerge? How is it related to other disciplines in the liberal arts?

On March 31st, 2023, we celebrated nearly three years of work on the Anti-Racism and the Disciplines initiative with a final symposium that brought together the scholars who taught us so much throughout the series. On that day, Dr. Hortense Spillers delivered a truly remarkable keynote address. This bonus episode features the remarkable keynote address she delivered that day.

In her talk titled "Black Studies and the Human Sciences: A Handful of Observations," Hortense Spillers weaves together personal narrative with intellectual history to tell the story of how Black Studies came to be. Emerging in the 1960s, Black Studies is not only a culmination of anti-racist efforts but also what she calls “the practice of anti-racism, at least in theory.”  ...