Directed by Rebecca Hall, English, 98 minutes, USA, 2021
Join one of two virtual screenings of “Passing” in preparation of two virtual panels hosted by Northeastern and Boston College respectfully.
Passing is a novel by American author Nella Larsen, first published in 1929. Set primarily in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in the 1920s, the story centers on the reunion of two childhood friends—Clare Kendry and Irene Redfield—and their increasing fascination with each other's lives. The film is based on the novel and is directed by Rebecca Hall, and stars Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson.
Panelists include:
Dr. Martin Summers, Boston College
Martin Summers is a cultural historian of the nineteenth- and twentieth-century U.S., with particular research and teaching interests in race, gender, sexuality, and medicine. He regularly teaches courses on post-1865 US and African American history; gender and sexuality in African-American history; and medicine and public health in the African diaspora.
Summers’ current book project, Inner City Blues: African American Mental Health and Social Policy in Twentieth Century Urban America, is an historical examination of how social scientists, psychiatrists and psychiatric social workers, government officials, and community organizers understood the relationship between urbanization and mental illness, and consequently sought to address the mental health care needs of African Americans in so-called ghettoes. Summers’ research has been supported by the Ford Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and the National Humanities Center.
Dr. Kourtney Senquiz, Clark University
Kourtney Senquiz, Visiting Assistant Professor,Ph.D. from the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She holds a M.A. and B.A. in Afro-American Studies from the same department. She received a M.A.T. at Elms College and studied at The University of Ghana, Legon.
Professor Senquiz’s research specialization is in African American literature, culture, and intellectual history. Her dissertation focuses on literary representations of the African American Gothic Double in the work of African American writers of the 19thand 20thcentury.
While in Ghana, Professor Senquiz helped launch Madamfo; a program that encourages international students to volunteer their time to tutor and raise educational funds for the children of Medina in exchange for university credits. Professor Senquiz also taught at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Holyoke Community College, and serves as Program Supervisor for Springfield College.