What is feminist theory when we begin with black people, black thought, and black culture at the center of our inquiry? How does this point of departure challenge and expand the parameters of feminism and the field of Women’s Studies? 

The fourth biennial Interventions symposium will explore temporality, genealogy, knowledge production, and pedagogical strategy through the lens of Black Feminist Thought. This year’s symposium is concerned with the history and the ongoing legacies of Black feminist knowledge production within the Department of Women’s Studies and the field at large. Through a series of panels, speculative discussions, performances, and film screening, we will ponder and sit with the tensions and possibilities present at this political and historical juncture in the department and field of Women’s Studies. In addition, we find ourselves taking up questions of feminist taxonomy, feminist research methodology, and feminist political work within and beyond the academy. Within these broader conversations, we reach toward and invite critical inquiry regarding the ways that we might center genealogies and geographies of Black feminisms, such as the critical activism of Harriet Tubman in Maryland and beyond, in our departmental self-positioning. 

Thanks to sponsors: The Department of Women's Studies; the Pepsi Enhancement Fund; the College of Arts and Humanities; the Department of History; the Department of American Studies; the Department of Theatre, Dance & Performance Studies; The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center; the Office of Graduate Diversity and Inclusion