Lunchtime Speaker Series: Sara Gonzales

The Boo Hag is a folklore figure with enslaved African and African American ancestry still circulating today, mainly in the Coastal Sea Island regions of South Carolina and Georgia. Erasure of BIPOC culture has been a result of colonization and while true origins or purposes can never be known, the continual evolution and application of folklore figures for future generations is the hoped-for result of this research.

About the Lunchtime Speaker Series

Under the Umbrella's Lunchtime Spaker Series is a free perk for our coworking cohort.

About Sara

Sara Gonzales (she/her/hers) is a senior at Westminster College studying Death and Gender in Folklore. Originally from Baltimore and Atlanta, she has lived in Salt Lake City for 13 years. She is a McNair Scholar, a first-generation, non-traditional student of color. Her academic goals include obtaining a PhD in Writing and Rhetoric studies and teaching. Sara’s current research asks the question, “What will a rhetorical analysis and comparison of memorates (ghost stories) and true crime podcasts reveal?” While interning at Under the Umbrella Sara will support Kaitlyn’s community engagement initiatives and fundraising. Some of her favorite books include The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, and Wild Seed by Octavia Butler. When not watching T.V. with her husband Devan and their dog Newman, she is most likely doing homework or consulting at Westminster’s Writing Center. Stop by the store on Thursday nights to chat with her about ways to support Salt Lake City’s queer little bookstore.