Béalleka is a Kenyan-born, Portland-based public educator and cultural consultant who helps people identify, challenge, and heal from institutional oppression. Her work builds from the premise that recognizing and unlearning divisive social constructs of race, gender, and sexuality­ effectively serves this urgent purpose. For over a decade, Béalleka taught literature and cultural studies specializing in contemporary representations of American slavery at universities across the U.S. She holds a doctorate in postcolonial literature and theory with a certificate in Women’s Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, and is the recipient of two MacArthur Teaching and Research Fellowships and a grant from the American Association of University Women. She leads Delve Readers Seminars for Literary Arts on works by Toni Morrison, Jesmyn Ward and James Baldwin; speaks nationally about intersectionality and unlearning racism; and frequently performs in live storytelling shows. Find more Béalleka at www.unlearningpodcast.com

LITERARY ARTS BLOG FEATURE: DELVE SPOTLIGHT ON BÉALLEKA (FROM JULY 2016)

PAST SEMINARS

16/17 SEASON

Haunting Legacies: Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Contemporary Representations of Slavery
Seminar Summaries (by Kirstin Fulton)