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L. Ashley Atkins

L. Ashley Atkins

Philosophy Western Michigan University

Posts

Lyrical Politics: Reflections on the Role of Grief in Political Life

Lyrical Politics: Reflections on the Role of Grief in Political Life

Posted on 17 December 2018 by

It’s said that Mamie Till Mobley helped to catalyze the civil rights movement. When people say this what they have in mind, principally, is her decision to present her son’s […]

Coming to Grief: Violence, Mourning, and Interracial Intimacy

Coming to Grief: Violence, Mourning, and Interracial Intimacy

Posted on 3 December 2018 by

In my last piece, I defended two claims regarding the relationship of Dana Schutz to Mamie Till Mobley. The first concerned Schutz’s statement that Open Casket was undertaken through empathy […]

The Empathy Defense: Emmett Till, “Open Casket,” and ‘White Empathy’

The Empathy Defense: Emmett Till, “Open Casket,” and ‘White Empathy’

Posted on 19 November 2018 by

“A painting of a dead black boy by a white artist.” This is British artist Hannah Black's description of Dana Schutz's Open Casket, a painting included in the 2017 Whitney […]