Spring 2019 Colloquium Series - 11 January
Emmalon Davis, The New School :: Self-Undermining Undermining Propaganda: Reconceiving Procreative Responsibility
Friday, January 11 2019
Friday, January 11 2019
Abstract: At the end of his chapter on reproduction, Tommie Shelby (2016) discusses the racist and sexist ideology of the black 鈥渨elfare mother鈥� critiqued by Dorothy Roberts (1997). According to Roberts鈥檚 critique, welfare reform that proposes punitive interventions into black women鈥檚 reproductive lives is a tool of oppression, motivated by the prejudicial ideology that (1) black women are unfit mothers and (2) racial inequality persists as a result of irresponsible reproductive decisions on the part of black women. While Shelby acknowledges that Roberts鈥檚 critique is compelling and concedes that such an ideology is 鈥渘o doubt鈥� at work in shaping the perceptions of policy makers (and the public, more broadly), he nonetheless maintains that this critique 鈥渄oes not settle the question of whether there is a valid justification for welfare policies that deter reproduction among poor single women鈥� (139). This paper offers a feminist critical analysis of Shelby鈥檚 account of procreative responsibility. In the paper, I argue that in attempting to 鈥渟ettle the question,鈥� Shelby (unwittingly) reinforces the ideology that Roberts critiques. Using Jason Stanley鈥檚 (2007) notion of undermining propaganda, I articulate two ways in which undermining propaganda鈥攁 rhetorical strategy employed by Shelby鈥攔isks undermining itself. I critically evaluate the central components of Shelby鈥檚 argument to illuminate the dangers of utilizing undermining propaganda in service of democratic ideals.
Talks are held at the Burnaby Campus in room WMC 3250 from 3:30 - 5:00 p.m., unless otherwise indicated. They are free and open to the public.