Embodying Black Joy Through Collective Effervescence

• In Event: Leading for Change: Student Leadership, Advocacy, and Resistance in Higher Education

Abstract

This study explores the concept of Black Collective Effervescence (CE) among 25 Black graduate and professional students. CE, as defined by Durkheim (1912), refers to the intense emotional unity felt during shared experiences. In this research, participants described that shared emotional feeling as Black Joy—a positive, racialized emotion emerging from shared liberation from anti-Blackness. Through participant created artwork and semi-structured interviews, the study examines how Black students express and experience joy within their communities, extending Durkheim's work by incorporating the lens of race and Black identity. By understanding the ways in which Black joy is cultivated and shared, we aim to contribute to a deeper understanding of the experiences of Black students within higher education and society at large.

Authors

• Ashley J. Carpenter, Appalachian State University

• Candice Peters, Appalachian State University

• Brittney Pemberton, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Janella D. Benson, University of Wisconsin - Madison