Lakeland College

"The Peculiar Career of Aunt Jemima: Race and Stereotypes in U.S. Culture"
Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012 - 7 p.m.
Emilie Townes, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of African American Religion and Theology, Yale Divinity School
Emilie Townes is an ordained American Baptist clergywoman and teacher and has research interests focused on Christian ethics, womanist ethics, critical social theory, cultural theory and studies, postmodernism and social postmodernism. Her specific interests include health and health care; the cultural production of evil; analyzing the linkages among race, gender, class and other forms of oppression; and developing a network between African American and Afro-Brazilian religious and secular leaders and community-based organizations. Her lecture will explore the history and development of racial stereotypes in the U.S. Among her many publications are "Breaking the Fine Rain of Death: African American Health," "Womanist Ethic of Care; Womanist Justice, Womanist Hope;" and "In a Blaze of Glory: Womanist Spirituality as Social Witness." Prior to her appointment at Yale, she was the Carolyn Beaird Professor of Christian Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York. She served as president of the American Academy of Religion in 2008.