Black Feminist Sonic Praxes

Black Feminist Sonic Praxes is a graduate-level sound studies discussion/production seminar that explores a range of sound-based methodologies that reflect and inform Black feminisms, from the early 20th century to the contemporary moment, with a particular focus on the sonic practices devised, examined, and espoused by black women, girls, trans* and non-binary folks based in the U.S. Students will critically engage with the creative and scholarly contributions of theorists, historians, artists, and/or other sound workers like Zora Neale Hurston, Moor Mother, and DJ Lynnée Denise to examine how we might use sound-based methodologies to attend to Black feminist and womanist notions of knowledge production, pleasure, care, wonder, and dis/respectability. The source material includes a mix of popular and academic texts, drawing from black studies, sound studies, gender and sexuality studies, and ethnomusicology among other fields of study.