Carol Rifelj Faculty Lecture Series - David Stoll: "Accusations too Believable to be False"

David Stoll, Professor of Anthropology

“Accusations too Believable to be False: How We Talk About the Abenakis and Eugenics”

Does Middlebury College sit on stolen Abenaki land? Borrowing from a 2013 protest on this campus, I will begin with an explanation of how key words such as “genocide” and “stop the steal” can be used to make accusations that are, for receptive audiences, just about irrefutable.  Once the accusation is made, the accusation sticks, even if evidence proves to be lacking.  I will then go into the historical background of Vermont controversies about the Abenakis and eugenics.