Performing Black Womanhood in the United States

Catalog description

African American women’s identity is a highly contested social, cultural, and political (not to mention immensely personal) cite. Throughout the twentieth century, black and white men and white women generated the dominant images of black women in literature, theater, film, music, and the media. Casting them as Mammy, Peola, Jezebel, Welfare Queens, Quota Queens, and Nappy-headed Hos, cultural producers, politicians, and spin doctors have dismissed, hyper-sexualized, de-sexualized, objectified, and demonized black women. Yet, simultaneously, black women have defined themselves and fought bitterly to claim control of their bodies, representation, and rights as citizens of the United States. These efforts have both challenged and reinforced the dominant narratives, as for every stereotype that is dismantled, a new one seems to grow back, hydra-like in its place. Performing Black Womanhood explores the social, cultural, and political ramifications of identity formation and representation and the ways in which twentieth-century black women performed (both on and off the stage and screen) aspects of their identity and attempted, with varying levels of success, to control their images and influence political agendas. We will look closely at the lives, careers, and images of a number of African American women and read a variety of primary texts including novels, film, music, autobiography, play scripts, and poetry as well as secondary literature.