"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

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	English
Degree	Ph.D.
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Black Studies Literature, American Gender Studies
Palabra Clave	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

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