This year's Sterling Award Lecture will showcase Spanish and French Studies Professor Arthur Saint-Aubin's research on French general Thomas-Alexandre Dumas and explore the tension and ambiguity at the core of certain representations by Black male subjects of their physical bodies and bodily experiences. 

18 Apr
4:45 pm
Add to Calendar 2022-04-18 16:45:00 2022-04-18 16:45:00 Hyper-Visible Black Bodies: The Case of France's General Dumas This year's Sterling Award Lecture will showcase Spanish and French Studies Professor Arthur Saint-Aubin's research on French general Thomas-Alexandre Dumas and explore the tension and ambiguity at the core of certain representations by Black male subjects of their physical bodies and bodily experiences.  Mosher 1 Occidental College info@kwallcompany.com America/Los_Angeles public
Location: Mosher 1
Event Date: Apr. 18, 2022

Professor Arthur Saint-Aubin’s talk will examine the curious fate of French general Thomas-Alexandre Dumas in order to explore the tension and ambiguity at the core of certain representations by black male subjects of their physical bodies and bodily experiences. Professor Saint-Aubin will read excerpts from a military report—written by Dumas and submitted to the French government in 1802—as a way to reflect on masculine identities and as a way to think about a specific mode of black resistance and struggle. 

Professor Saint-Aubin teaches translation and French language and Francophone cultures courses. One component of his research examines Haitian literature and culture; he is the author of The Memoirs of Toussaint and Isaac Louverture: Representing the Black Masculine Subject in Narratives of Mourning and Loss (2015). His current research explores two distinct topics: Nineteenth-century French fiction; and contemporary popular culture, with a focus on the rock and roll memoir. His most recent book is The Pleasures of Death: Kurt Cobain’s Masochistic and Melancholic Persona (2020).

Lecture in Mosher 1 Auditorium
Reception to follow at 6:00 p.m. 
Mosher Patio

The Graham L. Sterling Memorial Award was established in 1972 to recognize a faculty member with a distinguished record of teaching, service and professional achievement.

General Dumas