The College of Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences presents “Diverse Voices in the Humanities"
Digital Speakers Series promotes the work of humanities scholars from underrepresented demographics, especially when they can speak directly to contemporary issues and events. This series will highlight how the humanities can contextualize and explain current issues, particularly in relation to race relations, health disparities, the rise of fascism/authoritarianism, and beyond. The invited speakers will give virtual lectures, hosted via Zoom or Zoom webinar, that will be accessible to all students, faculty, and staff, as well as people from the Huntsville community.
Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens, Charles & Linda Wilson Professor in the History of Medicine and Director of the Humanities in Medicine Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
“Dèjá Vu: Examining what's Old and New about Medical Racism”
About: Noted historian Deirdre Cooper Owens reveals how gynecology--and modern reproductive medicine in the United States--is directly linked to the institution of slavery. Learn how and why physicians denied black women their full humanity, yet valued them as “medical superbodies” highly suited for experimentation. Engaging with 19th-century ideas about so-called racial difference, Dr. Cooper Owens sheds light on the ways the legacy of medical racism manifests today, and what we can do about it. Further, she discusses how health disparities based on anti-blackness more broadly is centuries old in the U.S.
Presentation via Zoom
REGISTER HERE
Organized by the Departments of English, History, and Philosophy
Funded by the UAH Humanities Center and the Distinguished Speaker Series