[Commlist] CFP Dance and the Black Body

Posted on behalf of Dr Kwakiutl L. Dreher, Associate Professor, English, 
University of Nebraska at Lincoln


Call For Papers:

Tentative Title: Dance and the Black Body

Guest Editors:

Katrina Thompson Moore, Saint Louis University

Kwakiutl Dreher, University of Nebraska at Lincoln


The Journal of American Culture is seeking contributions for a special 
edition focused on the historical and cultural significance of dance and 
the ways in which Black women (re)claim their own bodies through 
rhythmic movement. Multidisciplinary in focus, The Journal of American 
Culture combines studies of American literature, history, and the arts, 
with studies of the popular, the taken-for-granted, and the ordinary 
pieces of American life, to produce analysis of American culture with a 
breath and holism lacking in traditional American studies.
For too long dance has been neglected as a contributor to the freedoms 
and hardships, the fame and the notoriety, and the power and subjection 
of Black women. The body of Black women, the way it is interpreted, 
misinterpreted, and treated, throughout history is always at the center 
of their dance. From Ballet to Twerking, dance performed by Black bodies 
is often artistically undervalued.

Professional to amateur, on a stage or #Tik Tok and other social media 
platforms- Black women's contributions to the history and culture of 
dance are undeniable. Let’s consider, for example, the dance phenomenon 
of twerking. Twerking defined as “sexually suggestive dancing” caused 
public outcry over singer Lizzo's twerking performance at the NBA game 
in 2019 to rapper’s Cardi B's and Megan Thee Stallion's controversial 
video (and song) WAP released in 2020 (to name a few). Despite the 
outcry, however, women across lines of race have downloaded “How To” 
videos on twerking; one beginner’s video led by instructor Kelsey Mobley 
has 22 million+ views.   Singer and performer Lizzo, interestingly, 
marks out the significance of twerking in Black culture in her 2021 TED 
Talk entitled “The Black History of Twerking”. After welcoming audiences 
to her TED Twerk, Lizzo rightly locates the historical root of twerking 
in West Africa and recognizes the cultural continuity in the United 
States and globally. She says, "Black people carried the origins of 
[twerking] through our DNA, through our blood, through our bones. We 
made twerking the global cultural phenomenon it became today.”
This special edition proposes to address a holistic rendering of Black 
women using dance as a means of empowerment. Most significantly, we also 
are interested in how Black women have embraced dance across genres and 
throughout history to assert a kind of agency that translates as freedom 
of expression even if it causes controversy. The socio-cultural, 
political, and historical are foci here as we analyze the significance 
of dance and, along the way, illustrate how Black women reclaim(ed) 
their own bodies through dance.
Dates and Deadlines:
Please send your 300-500-word abstract including your name, 
organization/department affiliation, email address, title of 
contribution in MS Word in a Times New Roman 12 typeface via an 
attachment with subject line Dance and the Black Body in an email on or 
before May 16, 2022, to Dr. Katrina Thompson Moore @ (Katrina.Moore /at/ slu.edu).

Submissions, generally 15-25 pages in length, are to be original 
scholarly manuscripts. Authors should submit papers in current MLA style 
with a works cited page and a minimum of endnotes. Contributors will be 
notified of acceptance of abstracts on or before June 16, 2022. Full 
papers are due on November 21, 2022.  The Dance and the Black Body, 
special edition will be published in the June, 2023 issue.

Contact Info:
Katrina Moore
Saint Louis University Department of History
Department of African American Studies Contact Email: (Katrina.Moore /at/ slu.edu)

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