Please join us to learn about the research from Cienna Davis and Lilly Haave.

Cienna Davis is a Ph.D. candidate in Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, with research interests in Black feminist theory, media, diaspora, and cultural politics. Her work explores transnational formations of race, gender, and resistance, particularly through ethnography and cultural critique. She holds degrees in Ethnic Studies and North American Studies and is also a writer, educator, community organizer, and cultural worker.

Title:  Honor the Savior, Tame the Rebel: Rosa Parks and the Disciplining of Black Feminist Standpoint in Berlin

Abstract: This essay examines the appropriation of Rosa Parks’s legacy in contemporary Germany, with a focus on the Rosa Parks House exhibition in Berlin and other cultural invocations of her image. Using Black feminist theory, ethnographic vignettes, and Black diaspora studies, I argue that the symbolic recontextualization of Parks in Germany reflects a complex negotiation of race, gender, and national identity. While ostensibly honoring Parks, these appropriations often depoliticize her legacy, aligning it with Germany’s self-image as a progressive, anti-racist state. This analysis critiques the use of Black American femininities in German cultural discourse, positioning the Rosa Parks House as a prime case study in the selective remembrance and resignification of Black feminist histories.

Lilly Haave (she/they) is a third year PhD student who received a BA from Pomona College in 2023 with a major in Classics and minor in Philosophy. Lilly's research interests include early Christian hagiographies, animal studies, and the ancient novel, as well as queerfeminist theory. Lilly is a proud member and social media coordinator of the Lambda Classical Caucus. 

Title: The Polyxena Sarcophagus: New Possibilities

Since its excavation in 1994, the Polyxena Sarcophagus has garnered attention for its extensive reliefs and controversial decedant inhabiting it. Though the iconography on the sarcophagus primarily features women, the bones found inside were sexed male, a fact which Richard Neer aptly calls “an inconvenient truth.” There have been a number of scholars with probable explanations, and Lilly aims to explore more possibilities. Using queer theory and abductive reasoning, this paper investigates the prospect that the intended and eventual occupant of the Polyxena Sarcophagus was a genderqueer person. Lilly then proposes ways to read the imagery on the sarcophagus through this lens.

Rose (2013) proposes that the sarcophagus was initially intended for a woman, but was used for the burial of a man when he died unexpectedly. Other scholars have suggested that the reliefs on the sarcophagus are male-centric (Neer 2012, Boardman 2007). Draycott (2018) suggests we read the reliefs less as an indication of gender identity and pay more attention to geographical location, where the myth of Polyxena’s sacrifice took place. However, Lilly takes seriously the possibility that the sarcophagus is intentionally feminine in its iconography and simultaneously meant for the sexed-male bones found inside.

Lilly utilizes the framework of queer theory via abductive reasoning in Classical Studies set forth by Surtees & Dyer (2023), exploring the ever-fluctuating states of intersex, trans, and gender non-conforming identity. Under the premise that the Polyxena sarcophagus was intended for the male-sexed bones found within, and that these bones belonged to some kind of genderqueer person, Lilly will illustrate how the imagery on the sarcophagus can be read as especially relevant to a non-conforming gender identity. In particular, Lilly will examine how Polyxena can be read as a gender non-conforming heroine, whose myth might be distinctly pertinent to the genderqueer experience.

Lunch will be provided.