Please join in a celebration of the life and work of Octavia Estelle Butler (1947-2006) who, as an African American feminist writer, broke new ground in the largely white male-dominated world of science fiction. Winner of the Nebula and Hugo awards, a PEN lifetime achievement award as well as a MacArthur Foundation "Genius" grant (the first ever awarded to a science fiction writer), Butler wrote radical new worlds into being, prompting us to reconsider our own realities and nurturing our hopes and struggles for a better day. Her creative vision and her persistent challenges to sexism, racism, homophobia and economic injustice remain an inspiration. If you are interested in participating by reading a favorite passage from Butler's work, please contact Laura Yow (layow@vassar.edu or x5654).
Filmmaker Asli Dukan will screen a tribute to Butler as well as selection from her documentary-in-progress, Invisible Universe: A History of Blackness in Speculative Fiction.
The event will take place on Sunday, May 7 from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. in the Faculty Parlor in Main Building.
Sponsored by Africana Studies, the English Department and Women's Studies.
Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations or information on accessibility should contact Campus Activities Office at (845) 437-5370. Without sufficient notice, appropriate space and/or assistance may not be available.
Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.
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Find the people, expertise, and information you need by contacting:
Media Relations Department
(845) 437-7404
jekosmacher@vassar.edu
(please indicate your deadline)