“Racial Capitalism and American Literature Now” is a one-day symposium convened to assess the effects of financial, institutional, and cultural capital on literature by writers of color in the US. Literary traditions that achieved greater visibility as an adjunct of minority student activism during the 1960s, have by now been fully centralized in mainstream literary markets and liberal academic institutions. These historical shifts have prompted writers to reimagine traditional conceptions of political resistance, the literary marketplace, and aesthetics. In addressing such concerns the panelists in this event draw upon an eclectic body of theoretical resources and historical frameworks, including Cedric Robinson’s concept of racial capitalism, Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capitalism, the genealogy of neoliberalism, and data analysis.

Free and open to the public. For questions please contact english@brown.edu. 

This event is convened by Rolland Murray.