Bells on the Hill: Rage and Slavery’s Postbellum Madness 

Professor Micah Khater 

Monday, October 2^nd 

12:15 to 1:45 pm 

Social Sciences Building, Room 650 Albert Johnson Conference Room 

This paper examines how objects from slavery forged a relationship between the antebellum and the postbellum and how formerly enslaved people contested these invocations of the past through material remembrance, rage, and stories of white madness. By tracing the life of one object, the bell rack, I explore the profound complexities of theorizing madness, disability, and slavery. Insanity is often marshalled against the possibility of Black rage. But what happens when descriptions of “insane” emerge out of Black rage instead of as its point of erasure? Where might we locate explanatory power in stories about white psychosis, but not as a condemnation of madness itself? 

To receive a copy of the paper, RSVP for lunch provided during the event (including dietary restrictions), and/or request an accommodation to more fully participate, please register at the following link by September 17: 

https://forms.gle/Q7BRBm5ZPfXX7ypg8