How do the meanings PETA applies to vegan commodities, and their ‘anti-racist’ use of Trayvon Martin’s 2012 murder, signify how both post-humanism and post-racialism work to conceal the violence of neoliberalism and structural racism? In this lecture, Dr. Harper will present how PETA’s online vegan food guide sets the mainstream debate of ‘ethical food’ consumption, but within the logic of neoliberal whiteness. Dr. Harper will also explain how alternative vegan guides, such as Queen Afua’s Afrocentric Sacred Woman, as well as Food Empowerment’ Project (FEP) “Ethical Food Choices”, attempt to resist and decolonize taken-for-granted-whiteness. Ultimately, Dr. Harper will show that the themes that connect PETA, Queen Afua, and FEP’s vegan guides, are how they effect and are affected by whiteness; both in its historical (i.e. colonial whiteness and Jim Crow segregation) and contemporary forms (i.e. neoliberal whiteness) as represented in the food commodity chain.
Dr. Harper teaches about how and why most people in the USA have unique relationships to food and wellness that are significantly shaped by racialization, neoliberalism, and whiteness. She has published extensively, including Sistah Vegan: Black Female Vegans Speak on Food, Identity, Health and Society (Lantern Books 2010). She graduated summa cum-laude from University of California-Davis with a PhD in critical geographies of race and food. She currently runs the Sistah Vegan Project (www.sistahvegan.com) and is a Senior Research Analyst and Trainer at Critical Diversity Solutions.
Bring your lunch or purchase lunch in Malott Commons Dining Hall. Dessert and coffee will be provided.