Hemispheric Black Feminisms

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Across the Black diaspora, Black women organizing for social transformation and against interlocking structures of power within non-Black feminist and Black social movements have historically had to contend with the anti-Black racism, patriarchy, and cis-hetero-sexist politics prevalent in these movement spaces. Black feminist writers, artists, and activists have long reflected on how participating in these ostensibly “broader” social movements has not only required the compartmentalization of their intersecting identities, but has also curtailed more robust and expansive conceptions of liberation. Rooted in a transnational framework, this course will explore the foundations and contours of Black feminist thought and praxis in the Americas. In particular, we will investigate alternative spheres beyond traditional social movement spaces, such as art and literature, through which Black women have been able to articulate and center their specific needs and experiences. Juxtaposing the experiences of Black feminist activists across the Americas, the course will also consider the importance of transnational Black feminist solidarity and employing a hemispheric analysis in the study of Black feminisms.