Tituba, Maryse Condé And Escrevivência: Black Women And The Word As Legacy

Tituba, an enslaved woman in the household of Salem Village’s minister, was one of the first to be accused of witchcraft in 1692. Under enormous pressure, she became the first to confess and claim there were more witches hiding in the colony.

Through word Tituba was defined as a witch and through the word she accepted this identity and thus kept herself alive. Maryse Condé’s acclaimed novel “Tituba, Black Witch of Salem” has sought to fill in the gaps in this story. Join the Salem Witch Museum as we celebrate International Women’s Day on Wednesday, March 8th for a free virtual lecture given by Maria Carolina. In this presentation, Maria will discuss the concept of escrevivência (a term that refers to the specific writing of black women who, by narrating their own experiences, honor their ancestors) through the character Tituba and her relationship with Maryse Condé and other black women around the world.

Maria Carolina is a teacher and writer. A voracious reader, passionate about the word, she is dedicated to research using the methodology of oral history and escrevivência to analyze narratives produced by black women. She is the creator of @encruzilinhas, a project for reading and debating texts about blackness, gender, feminism, and militancy. She is a researcher at GEPHOM – EACH-USP and a doctoral student at EACH-USP, in the Graduate Program in Social Change and Political Participation, in which she develops research with black Brazilian women married to Italians.

This event will be hosted as a free webinar and will be recorded and shared on the Salem Witch Museum website and YouTube page for future accessibility. The event will be held live on Zoom on Wednesday, March 8th at 6:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.