The Sawyer Seminar on Capitalism and Comparative Racialization is a yearlong program of lectures and discussion groups designed to bring scholars together to explore the relationship between race and capitalism in the modern world. How is “race” a product of capitalism? How does the world’s taxonomy of “races” change according to capitalism’s changing needs? How does “race” shape the operations and ideology of capitalism? We tackle these questions not only by engaging cutting-edge theories of race and capital, but also by testing them against historical cases in the United States, the Philippines, Brazil, and South Africa. Funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and spearheaded by WISIR, the Sawyer Seminar receives additional support from the Simpson Center for the Humanities, the Solomon Katz Endowment, the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies, the Graduate School, and the College of Arts and Sciences.
Spring 2018
Tuesday, April 3, 4:30-6:00 p.m.
Sawyer Seminar Reading Group
Our text will be a recent work by Tianna S. Paschel. Drinks and refreshments served. Communications 202.
Tuesday, April 10, 4 p.m.
Sawyer Seminar Lecture: Tianna S. Paschel, Assistant Professor of African American Studies, University of California, Berkeley. This event is free and open to the public. Communications 120.
Wednesday, April 25, 4:30-6:00 p.m.
Sawyer Seminar Reading Group
Our text will be a recent work by Shireen Hassim. Drinks and refreshments will be served. Communications 202.
Wednesday, May 2, 4 p.m.
Sawyer Seminar Lecture: Shireen Hassim, Professor of Politics, the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. This event is free and open to the public. Communications 120.
Thursday, May 10, 4:30-6:00 p.m.
Sawyer Seminar Reading Group
Our text will be a recent work by Charles W. Mills. Drinks and refreshments served. Communications 202.
Wednesday, May 16, 7 p.m.
Sawyer Seminar Lecture and Katz Distinguished Lecture in the Humanities: Charles W. Mills, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, The Graduate Center, City University of New York. This event is free and open to the public. Kane 210.
PREVIOUS EVENTS
Winter 2018
Thursday, February 15, 4:30-6:00 p.m.
Sawyer Reading Group
Our text will be a recent work by Neferti Tadiar. Drinks and refreshments served. Communications 202.
Wednesday, February 21, 4 p.m.
Sawyer Seminar Lecture: Neferti Tadiar, Professor and Chair of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Barnard College. This event is free and open to the public. Communications 120.
Thursday, January 4, 4:30-6:00 p.m.
Sawyer Seminar Reading Group
Our text will be a recent work from Khalil Gibran Muhammad. Drinks and refreshments served. Communications 202.
Wednesday, January 10, 7 p.m.
Sawyer Seminar Lecture: Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Professor of History, Race and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and the Suzanne Young Murray Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies. “How Racial Criminalization Underwrote America’s New Deal.” Kane 210.
Autumn 2017
Wednesday, November 29, 4:30-6:00 p.m. POSTPONED
Sawyer Seminar Reading Group
Our text will be a recent work by Jodi Melamed. Drinks and refreshments served. Communications 202.
Thursday, December 7, 4 p.m. POSTPONED
Sawyer Seminar Lecture: “The Open Secret of Racial Capitalist Violence”
Jodi Melamed, Associate Professor of English and Africana Studies, Marquette University. Free and open to the public. Communications 120.
Wednesday, November 1, 4:30-6:00 p.m.
Sawyer Seminar Reading Group
Our text will be a selection from Robin D.G. Kelley. Drinks and refreshments served. Communication 202.
Tuesday, November 7, 7 p.m.
Sawyer Seminar Lecture and Katz Distinguished Lecture in the Humanities: Robin D. G. Kelley, Distinguished Professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in US History at the University of California, Los Angeles. “What is Racial Capitalism and Why Does it Matter?” Kane 210.
