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EIHS Lecture: Writing Enslaved Women’s Histories from the Crevices of the Archive

Sasha Turner (Johns Hopkins University)
Thursday, September 28, 2023
4:00-6:00 PM
1014 Tisch Hall Map
This presentation offers an intimate portrait of the life of an enslaved woman, known as Abba, who appears multiple times in the diary of a slaveholder in eighteenth-century Jamaica. Abba’s life, like many others chronicled in the diary, is incompletely established in the literature, a pathetic figure overcome by violence, domination, and a demanding labor regime. Shifting analytic gaze and narrative voice to the enslaved, this discussion uncovers enslaved women’s affective creativity and configuration of a life aligned with their maternal and communal values.

Sasha Turner is associate professor of history at The Johns Hopkins University and is the author of Contested Bodies: Pregnancy, Childrearing and Slavery in Jamaica. Professor Turner has received many awards for her research, including from the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians, Southern Association of Women Historians, African American Intellectual History Society, Association of Black Women Historians, and North American Conference on British Studies. She is working on a new project on slavery and emotions.

This event presented by the Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies. It is made possible in part by a generous contribution from Kenneth and Frances Aftel Eisenberg.
Building: Tisch Hall
Event Type: Lecture / Discussion
Tags: African American, african diaspora, History, Latin America
Source: Happening @ Michigan from Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies, Department of History

The Thursday Series is the core of the institute's scholarly program, hosting distinguished guests who examine methodological, analytical, and theoretical issues in the field of history. 

The Friday Series consists mostly of panel-style workshops highlighting U-M graduate students. On occasion, events may include lectures, seminars, or other programs presented by visiting scholars.

The insitute also hosts other historical programming, including lectures, film screenings, author appearances, and similar events aimed at a broader public audience.