Experiencing the Virtues of Slowness with Daphne Lamothe
By Mikey Hadley
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This past Thursday I attended “The Virtues of Slowness in Times of Urgency: Black Time and Aesthetic Possibility”, a lecture celebrating Black Heritage Month, given by the provost and professor of African Studies at Smith College, Daphne Lamothe. Situated in the events hall next to Roots Cafe, the event offered Lamothe’s unique perspective on Black life and resistance in times of crisis, drawing heavily from themes in her book, Black Time and The Aesthetic Possibility of Objects.
After a brief introduction by Commonwealth Honors College Dean Mari Castañeda, Lamothe began outlining an understanding of how friction, difficulty, and slowness are key components of learning and appreciating art and literature.
As she succinctly put it, “friction is not an obstacle to learning, it is learning”.
Lamothe shared memories of her time as a sophomore at Yale University, studying under renowned feminist scholar and thinker bell hooks. She recounted being asked to read her writing aloud during class to her peers, and how that pushed her to gain a better understanding of her own opinions and ideas, not just reproduce memorized answers on tests and quizzes. Lamothe also described her difficulties finding a major that really clicked, and how she believes that her multi-disciplinary path through education equipped her with skills she is still using to this day.
She also recounted how she was not used to being asked “what do you think?”, and how that pushed her to truly understand her own opinions and ideas, not just reproduce memorized answers on tests and quizzes.
Lamothe then remarked on the impact of new technologies like AI on her experience as a teacher, and how she believes they can remove some of the necessary friction that makes learning challenging, but also deeply rewarding. Describing how this affects people even in their personal lives, she gave the example of “never getting lost anymore” with Google Maps, and how “we used to write letters, but now we write DM’s.”
Lamothe believes in “sitting with the difficulty” that comes when you take your time with a piece of art or literature – essentially understanding all of the nuanced ways it can challenge your own pre-held beliefs. She maintains that this is exactly what Black artists and authors have been practicing throughout history, and that “Black Aesthetic” fundamentally remodels a relationship to time in this way.
She ended her lecture by reassuring students that even though they might feel like she did in college – unsure, confused, lost, that they are “exactly where they need to be”, and that “it’s okay not to know”.
After the lecture, I spoke with some CHC students to get an idea of how they felt about the event. Mateo, a history major, emphasized the importance of listening to Black voices, noting that events like these have played a critical role in his education. Mateo also mentioned the importance of being able to listen to distinct, singular voices as a means of learning, and that he appreciated Lamothe’s analysis of friction as not an obstacle to learning, but the act of learning itself.
If you'd like to attend talks like this one, check out the events page on CHC’s website, where you will be able to find information on all upcoming events.
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Mikey Hadley
