Jennifer C. Nash

Jean Fox O'Barr Professor of Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies at Duke University

‘In the Room’:
Women of Color Doulas in a State of Emergency

"In the Room” explores the work of women of color doulas laboring in Chicago in an era where doulas are increasingly hailed—by the state and by activists—as precisely the innovation that can save black mothers’ lives. Dr. Nash explores the complicated tensions around professionalization and the medicalization of birth that underpins their practice, and considers the place of their work in the ongoing effort to eradicate black infant and maternal mortality.

Korenman Lecture organized by the Department of Gender, Women's, + Sexuality Studies.  Co-sponsored by the Provost's Office; the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; the Departments of Africana Studies, American Studies, Media and Communications Studies, Political Science, and Social Work; the Public Humanities Minor; and the Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion, and Belonging (i3B).

Photo courtesy of Geoff Martin.