History Workshop
“Why did you kill your baby?” Infanticide, Motherhood, and the Courts in Venezuela, 1811-1863
Dr. Reuben Zahler, UO History,
Friday, October 27, 10:00-11:30 am,
McKenzie Hall 375
In the Andean region of Venezuela, Professor Zahler uncovered a cache of court cases about infanticide that occurred shortly after Venezuela became an independent country. The defendants were overwhelmingly the infant’s mother — working class women of indigenous or mixed-race background. These cases offer a number of surprising insights into gender, race, moral codes, and how locals and the authorities sought to manage this most heinous of crimes.
