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Slavery & Its Legacies Symposium

Slavery, as an institution, traces its origins back to Mesopotamia in 3500 B.C. Slavery was abolished by most nations sometime in the 19th century. Slavery’s effects, however, persisted in many nations for decades — and still persist in various forms today. The Slavery and Its Legacies Symposium examines this historical persistence of institutionalized slavery, both in the United States and in other nations.

An Unkindness of Ghosts

This month, host Lisa Schweitzer is joined by David Sloane, Denise McIver, and Aubrey Hicks to discuss An Unkindness of Ghosts, by Rivers Solomon. We talk about slave allegories, generation ships, spatial hierarchies, gender, autism … so much to talk about with this debut novel from Solomon.

To listen to the Bedrosian Book Club discussion of An Unkindness of Ghosts, click the arrow in the player on this post. Or you can download it and subscribe through ApplePodcasts, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher or your favorite podcasting app!

Kindred

“I lost an arm on my last trip home.

My left arm.”

The iconic first line of Octavia Butler’s novel, Kindred, puts the reader right there. The gravity of the legacy of slavery is there in the face. Who has lost an arm? How? Why?

Listen as host Jeffery Jenkins and guests Ange-Marie Alfaro, Caroline Bhalla, and Aubrey Hicks as they think about this classic work of American fiction.

To listen to the Bedrosian Book Club discussion of the “Kindred” episode click the arrow in the player on this post. Or you can download it and subscribe through ApplePodcasts, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher or your favorite podcasting app!

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