2011 Du Bois Lecture: Photography on the Color Line

Annual Lecture

Thursday, February 10, 2011 5:30 AM to 6:45 AM EST
Johnson Center Cinema

The 2011 Du Bois Lecture is the annual series sponsored by African and African American Studies. This year's lecture will feature the work of Shawn Michelle Smith from the School of Art Institute of Chicago who will discuss her book, Photography on the Color Line: W.E.B. Du Bois, Race, and Visual Culture. In this text, the author proposes Du Bois organized an important archive of 363 photographs for an exhibit in the 1900 Exposition in Paris, France. The significance of the collection, according to Smith's book, is that the photographs "function as a counterarchive that challenges a long legacy of racist taxonomy, intervening in turn-of-the-century 'race science' by offering competing visual evidence" (p. 2).

The lecture will be held on Thursday February 10th, 2011 in the Johnson Center Cinema at 10:30AM. A reception will follow the lecture at 12PM in Gallery 123 in the Johnson Center. Also, a portion of the photos from Smith's book, and from Du Bois's collection, will be on display in Gallery 123 beginning Monday January 31th through Saturday February 5th.

Hosted by African and African American Studies.

Sponsored by African and African American Studies.