Upcoming Events

Join Tiya for a lecture followed by book signings with light refreshments. Literati Bookstore will be selling copies of Tiya’s book.

From the event announcement: Borrowing the words of Octavia E. Butler for theoretical inspiration, this talk engages in a thought experiment. What if we were to take Harriet Tubman, one of the most famous historical figures in the US, and center her in an environmental story? What would we learn about Tubman herself? What would we notice about Black women in the nineteenth century and the role of place and ecology in their survival? And what connections might we draw between Black women’s environmental thinking in the multi-temporal past and the greatest challenges facing our species in the murky present and future?

In partnership with the McCord Stewart Museum and CBC Ideas, Tiya will give a talk in celebration of her 2022 Cundill History Prize winning book All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake, which traces the life of a single rough cotton bag handed down through three generations of Black women to craft an extraordinary testament to people who are left out of the archives.

Tiya will be introduced by Cynthia Cooper, Head of Collections and Research Curator of Dress, Fashion and Textiles at the McCord Stewart Museum, who will explore how Dr. Miles’ work breaks ground for research that centres textiles within decolonizing narratives and inspires future directions for material culture studies.

In the second half of the evening, Nahlah Ayed, host of CBC’s Ideas, will interview Dr. Miles for later broadcast on the program, drawing on Dr. Miles’ earlier talk and exploring her work since winning the 2022 Cundill History Prize.

This is a free event. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Please arrive 15 minutes ahead to secure your seat.

Discussion in English, simultaneous translation in French will be available.