During the height of COVID restrictions in 2020, a group of Black queer artists in Cape Town occupied a ritzy home that had been converted into an Air B and B. They intended to overstay their original booking in order to bring attention to the issue of inequitable housing policy in South Africa, and the particular ways that the continuation of apartheid urban planning created disproportionate vulnerabilities for Black queer folk in Cape Town. In this talk, I will consider the political implications of joining queerness with the land question in post-apartheid South Africa through direct political action and performance.

Xavier Livermon is Associate Professor of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at UCSC

The Center for Cultural Studies hosts a weekly Wednesday colloquium featuring work by faculty and visitors. We gather at 12:00 PM, with presentations beginning at 12:15 PM.

For Winter 2022, the colloquium will take a hybrid format, in which some events are fully remote and others have the option of in-person attendance. Attendees have the option to attend in person in Humanities 210 or to watch the presentation on zoom. Those who attend in person must adhere to the campus mask mandate for all indoor activities and must complete UCSC’s symptom-check form before coming to campus. In person attendees are asked to please arrive at 12pm so that the event coordinators can verify the symptom check has been completed. To attend remotely via zoom, please RSVP in advance, and you will receive a zoom link on the morning of the colloquium. In most cases, speakers will appear remotely so that they will not have to present wearing a mask. To RSVP for the full Winter colloquium series, please use this form. If you have any questions about the colloquium, please contact Piper Milton (cult@ucsc.edu).

Staff assistance is provided by The Humanities Institute.