"The Edges of Slavery: The Unborn and the Deceased in 19th-century Cuba and Brazil" with Assistant Professor Ingrid Brioso Rieumont

In her upcoming talk at Yale University, "The Edges of Slavery: The Unborn and the Deceased in 19th century Cuba and Brazil," Professor Rieumont will examine the following questions: Is slavery co-terminous with life? When does enslavement begin and end? Professor Rieumont will examine two 19th century Latin American literary classics, The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas (1881) by Afro-Brazilian writer Machado de Assis and Cecilia Valdés or El Angel Hill (1882) by Cuban author Cirilo Villaverde, both of which challenge conventional understandings of where transatlantic slavery begins and ends. Focusing on legal and political debates alongside the complexities of racial capitalism in 19th century Cuba and Brazil, Professor Rieumont will explore how these debates contribute to the epistemological framework for understanding the importance of the unborn and enslaved within the context of transatlantic slavery.