Theodora Sakellarides Doctoral Defense - Weds, 10/16 at 1:30 PM via Zoom

Committee: Roland Williams (Chair), Kate Henry (Emerita), Natalie Leger, Rebbeca Tesfai (Temple Sociology)

Title: Feelings Work: An Examination of Emotional Labor in Black American Women’s Literature

Abstract:

Emotional labor has gained considerable recognition as a means to articulate a complex series of responsibilities women assume both within and outside of the marketplace. Despite increasing attention from scholars and activists, there has yet to be an examination of how emotional labor is represented in literature. My dissertation seeks to address this oversight by exploring what I contend is a profound concern with emotional labor in works written by Black American women. Through close readings of the notable texts from the tradition, I reveal that Black American women writers have specifically focused on emotional labor in the context of formal and informal racial justice efforts in the United States. I argue that this labor predominantly takes the form of instruction and storytelling that is carefully curated for a white American audience. Adopting an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, I analyze a range of memoirs, essays, fiction, and poetry to showcase how Black American women writers utilize diverse literary forms to interrogate the emotional labor they undertake. From the slave narrative to the contemporary poem, I demonstrate that this rich literary tradition offers critical insights into the racialization of emotional labor and deepens our understanding of Black American women’s unique historical role in the fight for racial equality in the United States. 

Contact tara.lemma@temple.edu for the Zoom link!