This year's Sterling Award Lecture will showcase Spanish and French Studies Professor Arthur Saint-Aubin's research on French general Thomas-Alexandre Dumas and explore the tension and ambiguity at the core of certain representations by Black male subjects of their physical bodies and bodily experiences.
Professor Arthur Saint-Aubin’s talk will examine the curious fate of French general Thomas-Alexandre Dumas in order to explore the tension and ambiguity at the core of certain representations by black male subjects of their physical bodies and bodily experiences. Professor Saint-Aubin will read excerpts from a military report—written by Dumas and submitted to the French government in 1802—as a way to reflect on masculine identities and as a way to think about a specific mode of black resistance and struggle.
Professor Saint-Aubin teaches translation and French language and Francophone cultures courses. One component of his research examines Haitian literature and culture; he is the author of The Memoirs of Toussaint and Isaac Louverture: Representing the Black Masculine Subject in Narratives of Mourning and Loss (2015). His current research explores two distinct topics: Nineteenth-century French fiction; and contemporary popular culture, with a focus on the rock and roll memoir. His most recent book is The Pleasures of Death: Kurt Cobain’s Masochistic and Melancholic Persona (2020).
Lecture in Mosher 1 Auditorium
Reception to follow at 6:00 p.m.
Mosher Patio
The Graham L. Sterling Memorial Award was established in 1972 to recognize a faculty member with a distinguished record of teaching, service and professional achievement.
