30851 - The Racial Politics of Joy

Description

This session invites papers to address the intersection of race, racism, and joy, or the racial politics of joy. For example, how do scholars and educators color who study race and racism cultivate everyday practices of joy in hostile environments? How is joy cultivated by racialized communities more broadly as forms of resistance to everyday and systemic forms of racial inequality? Or how do various forms of racialized and racist enjoyment (e.g. racist jokes, memes, ridicule) take shape across social and organizational contexts, from media and everyday settings, to the criminal justice system, the political arena, or in the context of war or genocide? The session seeks papers that critically examine the intersection of race, racism and joy or the racial politics of joy (e.g. amusement, enjoyment, humor), and the larger social and racial implications of these and other forms of racialized enjoyment.

Sub Unit

• Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities / The Racial Politics of Joy

Presider

• Maria Isabel Ayala, Michigan State University

Individual Presentations

• "But did you know...": Joy, myth, and Black liberation - Jocelyn Bell, Bryant University

• Critical Hits and Misses: Exploring Race, Gender, and Joy Among Black Geeks - Andrea Char'Lee Smith, University of Iowa

• That Ain’t Right & We Got Your Back: Anger, Love, and Joy in Social Movement Work - Michelle Smirnova, Rice University

Session Organizers

• Maria Isabel Ayala, Michigan State University

• Raúl Pérez, University of La Verne