Afropessimism, Frank B. Wilderson III’s unique work of literature, philosophy, and memoir, asks the question: why does race—in its myriad manifestations—seem to color almost every pore of our moral and political universe? This provocative question among others guides Wilderson’s exploration of Black suffering and how a perpetual form of political, intellectual, and cultural slavery continues to define the Black experience. Wilderson is an award-winning writer and Chancellor’s Professor and chair of African American Studies at UC Irvine. The talk is followed by a Q&A moderated by UCLA professor Kenneth Reinhard.

Copresented with the UCLA program in Experimental Critical Theory