Probing the Construction of Blackness in Greek Antiquity

Embarking on a quest for a balanced treatment of blackness in Greek antiquity, this presentation offers a reparative account of the iconography of black people. Drawing heavily from the work of scholars who examine the significations of blackness in Greek antiquity and modernity, I probe the artificial construction of color-based norms. Specifically, my self-reflexive analysis guides an inquiry of fifth century BCE janiform cups depicting black and brown faces on opposite sides. I treat these faces as part of a larger performance of blackness that occurs on the stage of the symposium.

Sarah Derbew received her PhD in Classics from Yale University and was a Junior Fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows. At Stanford, she is affiliated with the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. Her research focuses on the literary and artistic representations of black people in ancient Greece. The genres she investigates include ancient Greek tragedy, historiography, satire, and the novel. She also examines artistic renderings of black people in Greek antiquity, focusing on both the objects themselves and the museums in which they are displayed. Her interests extend to the twenty-first century; she has written about the reception of Greco-Roman antiquity in Africa and the African diaspora. She warmly welcomes students interested in any of these topics to her courses and to the Classics department. She is currently working on her first book, provisionally titled Decolonizing Blackness in Greek Antiquity (Cambridge University Press), in which she uses critical race theory and performance theory to untangle ancient formulations of blackness.

Probing the Construction of Blackness in Greek Antiquity
Date
Wed April 21st 2021, 12:00 - 1:00pm
Location
Zoom
Event Sponsor
Archaeology Center
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