Xavier Program: "Black Woman's Burden: Commodifying Black Reproduction

Announcing a Women of Color Lecture:

“Black Woman’s Burden: Commodifying Black Reproduction.”

On Tuesday, March 9, Nicole Rousseau, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Kent State University, will visit Xavier to deliver a Women of Color Lecture titled “Black Woman’s Burden: Commodifying Black Reproduction.” The lecture will take place from 1:00 to 2:15 pm in the Conaton Board Room. Dr. Rousseau’s work on the structural and institutional roots of race, class, and gender inequalities; social rhetoric and identity formation; and historical Womanist theory has been included in several publications in the US and South America. Her first book also titled Black Woman’s Burden: Commodifying Black Reproduction was released in the fall of 2009 by Palgrave Macmillan.
It examines the historical atrocities perpetuated against Black women under the guise of regulating Black female sexuality and reproduction in the US, as well as the impact of stereotyping and the myth of “the angry Black woman” on the development of oppressive policies that lead to the construction of national, racial, and gender identities for Black women. The book was chosen a finalist for the North Central Sociological Association's Scholarly Achievement Award.

Co-sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, and the Women’s Center, the lecture is free and open to the public. Faculty members who plan to bring their classes to the event are encouraged to contact Eileen Corder at 745-3539 so that she can ensure adequate seating.

Following the lecture, Dr. Rousseau will lead a Multicultural Fluency Institute faculty development lecture exploring social rhetoric and its influence on human interactions from 2:45 to 4:30 in the Library Center for Teaching Excellence. To register call X-3539 or email corder@xavier.edu.