KATHERINE ZIEN, SOVEREIGN ACTS: Performing Race, Space and Belonging in Panama and the Canal Zone

This talk discusses Katherine Zien’s recent book, Sovereign Acts: Performing Race, Sapce, and Belonging in Panama and the Canal Zone, awarded CALACS Best Book Prize in 2017 . In addition to touching upon some of the main case studies of the book, the talk muses upon the ways in which sovereignty can be contested and can perform for diverse audience. Katherine Zien is Associate Professor in the Department of English at McGill University, Her pedagogy and research focus on performance in the Americas, with emphasis on transnational mobility, cultural management, and frameworks of racialization.