Black Women's Spirituality: Resistance and portrayal in Literature.

Black History Walks

Literary representations of Black women who used African spiritual practices during slavery/colonialism to resist white supremacy.

Dr Asantewa will highlight British , Caribbean and American literary representations of African women who used indigenous spiritual practices during slavery/colonialism to fight white supremacy. Tituoba/Tituba is an African female agitator,  cast aside by patriarchal history, who was accused as one of the Salem Witches (USA 1692) and condemned to death. She confessed that she was a witch and was let free whilst her white female counterparts were killed.  In the Jamaican set novel &#x27;Wide Sargasso Sea&#x27; (which links to the 1847 British classic &#x27;Jane Eyre&#x27;) there is a reference to African spirituality as a power used by Christophine that destabilises the patriarchal &quot;Rochester&quot; character. In Beloved by Toni Morrison (USA) and Myal and Louisiana by Erna Brodber (Trinidad) obscure pre-colonial, female-centred spiritual systems are employed to subvert European power.These topics and more will be explored in this illustrated online lecture plus Q&amp;A.This is an online talk via Zoom. Your Zoom link will be sent to you after you register, 12 hours before the event starts.About the Nzingha lecture series: Queen Nzinga was an African Queen who fought against the European invasion of southern Africa (Congo/Angola). The Queen Nzinga lecture series feature African female academics / holders of expert knowledge, speaking on topics of their choice. The Nzinga lecture series will provide a regular platform for women of African descent to highlight important issues in an academic setting. For previous recorded lectures visit www.youtube.com/blackhistorywalksMore coming events at www.blackhistorywalks.co.uk :About the Speaker:Dr Michelle AsantewaMichelle Yaa Asantewa was born in Guyana. At age 10, she migrated to the UK to reunite with her mother. Her interest in African traditional spiritual practices and cultural identity prompted her to do a PhD on the Guyanese Komfa ritual.She formerly lectured in English Literature, Editing and Creative Writing at London Metropolitan University and currently facilitates a range of writing workshops as an independent scholar. She is also co-tutor on The Amazing James Baldwin course and the African Women Resistance leaders: Political and Spiritual courseShe co-founded Way Wive Wordz Publishing, Editing and Tuition services through which she has published her first novel, Elijah and The Awakening and Other Poems and the more recent titles – her PhD Thesis, Guyanese Komfa: the ritual art of trance, Mama Lou Tales: a folkloric biography of a Guyanese elder and Something Buried in the Yard (an extracted novella from her PhD) were launched in July 2016. She writes a regular blog – Way Wive Wordz .

Black Women's Spirituality: Resistance and portrayal in Literature.

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Black Women's Spirituality: Resistance and portrayal in Literature.

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