The Salon
Dear Metropolitanists,
Effective immediately I have suspended the Quarantine Salon. I won’t say it is over forever, but for now I think it is best to clear the airspace for us to listen to black folk and anti-racism educational resources. I’ve included some below as well as a suggestion to go about continuing to find resources for yourself. I’ll keep providing updates to the list, so, these are just some common starting points if you want to join me in reading and listening.
Upcoming Salons
June 12: at 6 pm EST In place of our scheduled programming which was going to be an interview about Cultural studies, consider checking out this interview with seminal Cultural Studies scholar Professor Stuart Hall or reading and listening to Dr. Hall’s work in general. He is a definitive figure in Cultural Studies and you’ll get a great introduction to the field from him as well as an introduction to his anti-racist work. While you’re at it, you might read some Paul Gilroy and Jacqui Alexander.
Additionally: here is some further listening that reflects my current listening:
Intersectionality Matters! Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw
1619 a New York Times produced podcast about the history of slavery in the United States
Code Switch an NRP produced podcast featuring “the fearless conversations about race that you’ve been waiting for.”
Le Soapbox a podcast “dedicated to informing young people, and particularly young black people, on the subjects that affect us everyday.” How can I resist a podcast hosted by a man named Baudelaire? I can’t
I’ll add to this page as time goes on but also to find more resources you can always google “anti racism resources” and find a wealth of educational material.
Past Salons
March 31 was our inaugural salon via IGLive. We read Gigi by Colette, a novela set during the Belle Époque which was also the high period of the salon.
As promised here is the English version and here is the French version and I’m linking to Bookshop rather than Amazon in solidarity with the Amazon workers who were fired for requesting safer working conditions during these precarious times and I hope you’ll vote with your dollars by ordering from an independent bookseller or Bookshop because now more than ever small and independent businesses need our help to stay in business far more than corporate behemoths and those Amazon workers deserve safer working conditions as essential employees during this pandemic.
April 7: 6 pm EST a discussion of the field of comparative literature, which both Kim and I received our Ph.D.s in. The following were our pre-salon readings:
What is Comparative Literature and Comparative Literature: A Modest Reading List
April 14: 6 pm EST we discussed canonical comparative literature and French literature text Madame de Lafayette’s The Princess of Cleves parts 1 and 2, which you can find for free on Project Gutenberg or a print copy if you, like me, prefer the physical book I’m going to recommend the Oxford University Press Edition.
April 21: 6pm EST Ignacio Choi joined me to complete our discussion of Madame de Lafayette’s The Princess of Cleves parts 3 and 4 which can be found in either of the recommended links above.
April 28: 6 pm EST I interviewed Dr. Kim Coates about her experience studying French literature for her MA as another way to consider literary studies both in the comparative literature context as well as in its other institutional formations.
May 5: 6 pm EST we discussed the first half of contemporary Irish novelist Sally Rooney’s Normal People which I’m sure is also available in ebook formats as well (maybe consider nook books and support B&N instead of Amazon.
May 12 6 pm EST we continued and completed our discussion of Sally Rooney’s Normal People.
May 19: 6 pm EST Dr. Kim Coates interviewed me me, Dr. Sophia Basaldua-Sun about my experience studying English literature for my MA, again, to consider the different departmental divisions in “literary studies,” how literature is carved up and taught, and in relation to what comparative literature departments offer as a remedy or supplement to these divisions.
May 26: at 6 pm EST join Ph.D. candidate Kathryn Silverstein and myself to discussed Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “The Man of the Crowd”
The Original Invitation:
Hear ye, Hear ye!
Oh, excuse me, I think I reached back into the wrong century for my invitation.
Dear Metropolitanists,
You are formally invited to join Dr. Kim Coates of Evocations Review and myself every Tuesday at 6 pm EST for our weekly salon on Instagram Live. Here you will be able to find a list of dates and topics. So, put on your most stylish outfit, bring your most elevated conversation, grab a glass of champagne at the door, and make yourself at home.