"I feel, therefore I be free:" Black Femme Embodied Epistemologies Restricted; Files Only

Abstract

This dissertation is broadly concerned with embodied epistemologies with a particular focus on Black femmes considered dis-respectable, wayward, and ‘round da way. Centering the rituals of the ‘round da way is essential to an expanded understanding of Black ontology. Foregrounding ‘round da way Black femme kinship ties, gender expression, erotic embodiment, and spirituality refuses the notion that Black being can only be understood as responding to the terror of slavery and its afterlives. In this project I think alongside Black women writers (Toni Morrison, Ntozake Shange, Gayl Jones, and Alice Walker) and their canonized texts to theorize alternative epistemologies and ontologies. This work begins with a focus on Black girlhood and interiority and the spiritual, physical, and affective possibilities found therewith. Next, I offer Black femme deliverance as a justice-oriented alternative to traditional conceptions of salvation. Finally, I elucidate the connections between erotic expression and communal healing. Together these points of analysis reveal the freedom practices inherent to wayward Black femmes and challenge us to embrace richer ways of reading and being. 

Table of Contents

Table of Contents 

Introduction.................................................................................................................................1 

Chapter 1: “In My Own Little Chair:” Blackgirl Interiors..........................................................13 

Chapter 2: Black Femme Holy Trinity........................................................................................48 

Chapter 3: Cummunion...............................................................................................................86 

Conclusion: Reprise: Black Femme Returns..............................................................................114 

Works Cited................................................................................................................................119 

About this Dissertation

Rights statement

• Permission granted by the author to include this thesis or dissertation in this repository. All rights reserved by the author. Please contact the author for information regarding the reproduction and use of this thesis or dissertation.

School	Laney Graduate School
Department	English
Degree	Ph.D.
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Black Studies Literature, American Gender Studies
Keyword	epistemology womanism affect theory ontology Black feminism
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Meina Yates-Richard, Emory University
Committee Members	Nathan Suhr-Sytsma, Emory University Dianne Stewart, Emory University

Last modified

Primary PDF

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Actions
	File download under embargo until 21 August 2030	2024-08-07 16:24:07 -0400	File download under embargo until 21 August 2030

Supplemental Files

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Actions