Murder and Mattering in Harambe's House

This talk approaches the controversy over the killing of the gorilla Harambe in the Cincinnati Zoo in may 2016 as a unique window onto the making of animalness and blackness in the contemporary U.S. The construction of the "human" in relation to both the "animal" and the "black" is explored.

Claire Jean Kim is a Professor of Political Science and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Irvine. An in uential scholar in animal studies, her work is at the vanguard of theorizing the intersections of racialization, animality and nonhuman life. Her most recent book, Dangerous Crossings: Race, Species, and Nature in a Multicultural Age (Cambridge University Press, 2015), won the Best Book Award from the American Political Science Association’s Section on Race, Ethnicity and Politics. 

If you wish to attend a seminar with Professor Kim in advance of her lecture, please reserve your place online in advance. Further details on the seminar are also provided in the event flyer.