Ethnography and Black Religion
Scholars of African American religious studies present a keynote and two panels explore the sacred dimensions of Black music, performance, and personhood. Rutgers University's Dr. Maurice Wallace delivers a keynote address entitled "The Sonic Souls of Black Folk" at the Crossroads Virtual Roundtable hosted by Princeton University's Dr. Judith Weisenfeld.
The first panel dives into how gospel, jazz, and swing music have negotiated gender, sexuality, and the boundaries of Black sacred sound with Dr. Alphonso Saville IV of Princeton, Dr. Alisha Lola Jones of Cambridge, Dr. Vaughn Booker of Dartmouth, and more. The second panel analyzes how Black performers and personalities have cultivated sacred personhood and spirituality through sound, with Dr. Saville, Dr. Ralph Craig III of Stanford, Dr. Ambre Dromgoole of Yale, Dr. James H. Hill Jr. of Oklahoma, amongst other scholars.
This interdisciplinary exploration of Black music's role in shaping and expressing Black spirituality promises to be an illuminating scholarly forum. The Sonic Souls of Black Folk will analyze the past and future of Black sacred sound.
Claude Anderson Ingalls
Media Library
Share on X Share on Facebook Email this page Print this page
The Sonic Souls of Black Folk
Keynote Address and Panels
Keynote Address:
Maurice Wallace (Rutgers University)
Panel 1:
“Gospel, Gender, Sexuality, and Swing: Boundaries of Black Sacred Sound”
[timestamp 1:44]
Alphonso F. Saville, IV (Princeton University)
Alisha Lola Jones (Cambridge University)
Vaughn A. Booker (Dartmouth College)
Panel 2:
“Black Performers and Personalities: Sacred Dimensions of Personhood through Black Sound”
[timestamp 4:42]
Alphonso F. Saville, IV (Princeton University)
Ralph H. Craig, III (Stanford University)
Ambre Dromgoole (Yale University)
James H. Hill, Jr. (University of Oklahoma)
June 2, 2023
Ethnography and Black Religions
Ethnography and Black Religions Panel Transcript
A Crossroads Virtual Roundtable
Moderator:
Judith Weisenfeld (Princeton University)
Panelists:
Judith Casselberry (Bowdoin College)
N. Fadeke Castor (Northeastern University)
KB Dennis Meade (Northwestern University)
Eziaku Nwokocha (University of Miami)
Todne Thomas (Harvard University)