2018 Black New England Conference October 19-20

The Black New England Conference, now in its 12th year, is an annual 2-day gathering where academics, artists, activists, and community members share insights and research on Black experiences, past and present, in New England and beyond. The Conference is both an academic conference and a celebration of Black life and history.

The Black New England Conference is accepting abstracts for 10- to 15-minute presentations that examine any number of questions related to African American style. Presentations should deepen an understanding and appreciation for African American cultural traditions and promote critical engagement. Although abstracts on any aspect of African American style will be considered, we are especially interested in receiving abstracts that speak to the following themes: 

• The Social Brain and the Creation of Black Identities
  Sociological and/or cognitive approaches to the social brain, African American style, and the creation of Black identity.

• Heads up: It’s all about the Hair
  The artistic, economic, and political histories of black hair

• African American Cool: Commodification, Eraser & Appropriation
  How/why is African American style commodified? What is the affect of this commodification on African Americans?  In what ways is African American style imagined as transcending racial specificity. 

• Say It Loud: Vogue, Ball, Garden & Underground Cultures
  Examinations of various queer cultures and styles and their movement into mainstream American culture

• Strange Fruit: Interpreting anti-Black violence through artist expressions
   
• The Souls of Black Folks: Stepping Forward, Redrawing Boundaries
  Where do we go from here?

This conference is for anyone who wants to explore the significance of individual and collective style as more than just a social and climatological necessity. It will be an animated and vibrant celebration of the human drive to define and redefine what it means to be human.

2018 Black New England Conference website.