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Naming a Transnational Black Feminist Framework

Time: Oct. 30, 2019, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Location: 319 Sims Hall

Kia Melchor Hall (Fielding University)

Situated at the intersection of IR and Black feminist theory and praxis, Hall argues that a Black feminist tradition of engaging the international exists, has been neglected by mainstream IR and can be written into the IR canon using the TBF framework. Using grounded theory research within the Black indigenous Garifuna community of Honduras, as well as the scholarship of Black feminist anthropologists, the Hall focuses on five TBF guiding principles—intersectionality, solidarity, scholar-activism, attention to borders/boundaries, and radically transparent author positionality, offering an Interdisciplinary, critical alternative for engaging IR studies.  Hall’s work is profoundly interdisciplinary, bringing the social sciences (IR) into conversation with the deeply humanistic trajectory of Black feminist theory and politics.

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Biography: With academic credentials in both computational and social sciences, K. Melchor Quick Hall, Ph.D. is a transdisciplinary scholar-activist. Her dissertation research explored the importance of cassava bread, or "ereba" in the Garifuna language, which is central to development in Honduras’ rural, Black indigenous Garifuna community. Highlighting the importance of Black women’s work in community development is an important aspect of Dr. Hall's socio-political commitments. In addition to working with rural farmers in Honduras, she also works in solidarity with food activists in the US, such as those at Soul Fire Farm, and understands how important science is to Black and indigenous livelihoods. Having taught and trained in various STEM disciplines, including mathematics, computer science, and environmental science, Dr. Hall is committed to increased access and opportunities for historically under-represented populations, including Black and Latino populations.

Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Women's & Gender Studies