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Christen A. Smith

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This article is about the professor. For the 19th-century botanist, see Christen Smith.

Christen A. Smith
Education
Occupation(s)Associate professor of anthropology and African and African diaspora studies
EmployerUniversity of Texas at Austin
Websitehttp://www.afro-paradise.com/

Christen A. Smith is an associate professor of anthropology and African and African diaspora studies at the University of Texas at Austin, and the director of the university's Center for Women’s and Gender Studies.[1] She is also the founder of Cite Black Women.[1]

Smith researches anti-Black racism with a focus on police-led and state violence, and on the regions of Brazil and the United States. She describes herself as a Black feminist[2] and supports the police abolition movement.[3]

Education

Smith received a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology from Princeton University[4] in 1999.[5] She received a Master of Arts in Cultural and Social Anthropology from Stanford University in 2003[6] and a Doctor of Philosophy in the same field from Stanford University[4] in 2007.[6]

Afro-Paradise

In 2016, Smith published a book through University of Illinois Press titled Afro-Paradise: Blackness, Violence, and Performance in Brazil.[7] She coined the term Afro-Paradise to refer to a society that celebrates Black bodies and consumes Black culture while also sapping Black labor and killing Black people. The term was inspired by time she spent in Salvador, Bahia, with Smith explaining "The state terrorizes its own citizens in order to create the fantasy of Bahia as a celebratory, romantic Black paradise: Afro-Paradise."[3] Bahia is the focus of the book, which is made up of five chapters.[8]

The book was positively reviewed in the Luso-Brazilian Review, which suggested that the reader also research the history of Brazil as it relates to the conflict outlined in Afro-Paradise.[9] Another positive review in Studies in Latin American Popular Culture described the format of the book, which intersperses scenes from a play by a Bahian activist group, as "highly innovative".[10]

Cite Black Women

Main article: Cite Black Women

In 2017, Smith attended a conference at which a presenter paraphrased her book in a PowerPoint presentation and did not cite her. She made a t-shirt with the words "Cite Black Women" and began wearing it to conferences, eventually making more and selling them. She continues to sell the shirts and donate the proceeds. In 2018, she started a podcast with the same name.[3]

Research

Smith researches anti-Black racism with a specific focus on Brazil and the United States[3][11] and on police-led violence[12] and state violence.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b "Christen A. Smith". NPR Diverse Sources Database. NPR. July 22, 2020. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  2. ^ Williams, Kennedy (May 1, 2020). "Podcasts from staff and faculty members help you learn while you listen". University of Texas. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Lewis, Eshe (July 16, 2020). "Combating Anti-Black Racism in Brazil". SAPIENS. Wenner‑Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, with University of Chicago Press. Archived from the original on July 18, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Christen Smith". Inter-American Dialogue. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  5. ^ "Afro-Paradise: Blackness, Violence, and Performance in Brazil". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Princeton University. March 4, 2016. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Curriculum Vitae: CHRISTEN A. SMITH, Ph.D." (PDF). University of Texas. April 5, 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 22, 2020.
  7. ^ Smith, Christen A. (2016). Afro-Paradise: Blackness, Violence, and Performance in Brazil. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-09809-3. OCLC 935128097.
  8. ^ Berry, Maya. "Afro-Paradise: Blackness, Violence, and Performance in Brazil by Christen Smith". Hemispheric Institute. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  9. ^ Rosa, Cristina F. (2017). "Afro-Paradise: Blackness, Violence, and Performance in Brazil by Christen A. Smith (review)". Luso-Brazilian Review. 54 (2): E15–E17. doi:10.3368/lbr.54.2.E15. ISSN 1548-9957. S2CID 148863445 – via Project MUSE.
  10. ^ Stewart, Danielle (2020). "Afro-Paradise: Blackness, Violence, and Performance in Brazil by Christen A. Smith (review)". Studies in Latin American Popular Culture. 38 (1): 189–190. ISSN 2157-2941 – via Project MUSE.
  11. ^ "Profile for Christen Smith, PhD at UT Austin". University of Texas. Archived from the original on June 22, 2016. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  12. ^ Mendoza, Muffy (July 2, 2018). "The invisible victims of police violence—black mothers". PublicSource. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  13. ^ McKenna, Stacey (June 17, 2020). "Police Violence Calls for Measures beyond De-escalation Training". Scientific American. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
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