Joy: The Seedbed of Feminist Futures

• In Event: Black Feminist Sociology Meets Racial and Ethnic Feminist Theory

Abstract

A conversation between us – a Black feminist scholar and a Dalit feminist activist – is the seed for this essay. In speaking to each other across race and caste, across continents and struggles, we found ourselves circling the same truth. What began as Bell’s study on Black storytelling in New England and Samy’s work with Dalit girls and young women in India’s informal settlements grew into a shared inquiry. What happens when we think about joy together, across our histories of race and caste? What do Black and Dalit feminist traditions teach us when placed in dialogue about the politics of joy? In this essay, we reflect on these questions, shaped by our different yet resonant journeys.

Authors

• Jocelyn Bell, Bryant University

• Priyanka Samy