By Richard LeComte

LEXINGTON, Ky. --- Gabriela Spears-Rico, assistant professor of Chicano Latino Studies and American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, will lead off the University of Kentucky Department of Anthropology’s Autumn Colloquium Series with a talk titled “Malinche’s Refusal: New visions for a decolonized Latinidad. “

This first event, at noon Friday, Oct. 14 in the Young Library Auditorium, is free and open to the public. Sponsors are the UK College of Arts & Sciences, Martin Luther King Center and the Gaines Center for the Humanities.

Spears-Rico will discuss the idea of “Dia de la Raza,” or “Day of the Race,” which Spanish-speaking communities often celebrate in place of Columbus Day. She will explore the origins of the term “la raza” and how it relates to gendered colonial violence and colonial stereotypes.

In addition, Spears-Rico will offer a poetry reading from her upcoming book, “Deer Hide Eulogies, Reclamos y Remedios,” at 3 p.m. Friday at the Gaines Center for the Humanities’ Bingham Davis House, 218 E. Maxwell St.

Additional events are:

• Nov. 4: Amanuel Beyin, University of Louisville, will discuss “Hominin Dispersal Pathways: A View From the Red Sea Basin.”
• Dec. 9: Nicole Creanza of Vanderbilt University will discuss ”A Worldwide View of Matriliny: Using Cross-Cultural Analyses to shed light on human kinship systems.”

Both events are at noon in the Young Library Auditorium.