This seminar will encourage students to reflect on the most recent episode in African-Americans’ centuries-long struggle for civil and human rights: the Black Lives Matter Movement. Using a diachronic approach, students will be able to appreciate both the continuity and the varying permutations in the forms of oppression and resistance. The theme of mediatization will notably fuel students’ reflection on the modern configurations of social activism and how media shapes public perception and engagement.
A critical focus on the body, as a theoretical tool of analysis, will enrich students’ understanding of African Americans’ lived experiences of racism, including its potentially deadly manifestations. This lens will also illuminate the historical and cultural representations that have constructed the Black body—particularly the male body—as a societal menace, thereby facilitating the persistence of modern “lynchings” by state representatives, often with impunity. Through the study of Beyoncé’s work in the wake of the Black Lives Matter Movement, we will further explore the significance of the body as a site of resistance, identity, and power.
The seminar will also engage with the contributions of Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, the three co-founders of the Black Lives Matter Movement, who all identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Their efforts toward greater inclusion of sexual and gender minorities within the movement underscore the importance of an intersectional lens. This perspective will not only contribute to a more nuanced understanding of African American experiences of racial oppression but also encourage critical reflection on the vectors of disunity within the African American community, challenging its often homogenized representation.
Finally, we will analyze the white American and French appropriations of the movement to reflect on how African Americans’ call for human rights resonates with these groups. This discussion will provide an opportunity to interrogate the global impact of the movement and the ways in which its messages are adapted, reframed, or misunderstood in different cultural contexts.
- Enseignant: Allyson Tadjer