CCR751 – Weheliye – Phonographies: Grooves in Sonic Afro-Modernity

Weheliye, Alexander G.,  Phonographies Grooves in Sonic Afro-Modernity. New York: Duke UP, 2005. Print. Intro: Wow, what a theory/lexically heavy piece!  There’s a lot going on in the intro, so I’ll do my best to encapsulate what W. wants to do here.  First, he discusses the “digital divide” that puts white’s engagement with technologies (information technologies) on a high pedestal, while the “sound technologies” of A.A. are not... Read More

CCR751 – Dinerstein – Swinging The Machine

Dinerstein, Joel. Swinging the Machine:  Modernity, Technology, and African American Culture between the World Wars. Amherst: UMASS Press, 2003. Introduction:  Bodies and Machines Dinerstein provides a framework for understanding his work in this first section.  He notes that he is interested in exploring an “aesthetics of acceleration” – or a demonstration of the way that A.A. cultural forms constitute any American claim of being an “accelerated”... Read More

CCR751 – Sinclair – Technology and the A.A. Experience

Sinclair, Bruce. Technology and the African-American Experience:  Needs and Opportunities for Study. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2004. Introduction:  Integrating the Histories of Race and Technology List format today in the interest of brevity. Perceptions about inventiveness and natural aptitude have played a huge role in pushing the A.A. technological experience to the borders of accepted thought.  This is why A.A. are largely absent from the technological... Read More

CCR751 – Katie’s Cannon

Cannon, Katie Geneva. Katie’s Canon Womanism and the Soul of the Black Community. New York: Continuum International Group, 1997. Print. Katie Geneva Cannon Prelude / Chapter One : Surviving the Blight There is a lot of information in this section.  I’ll start with a couple of key terms.  Jungle Stance: the posture of knowing you’re in danger without having to be taught.  Cannon claims this stance is natural in young A.A. children... Read More

CCR751 – Week Two

And We Are Not Saved : The Elusive Quest for Racial Justice Derrick Bell This is a really interesting piece.  I like how we get two views in the text on racial justice and black interpretations/plans for addressing said injustice.  The fact that these are filtered through a somewhat gendered lens is also interesting/problematic. Structure: a.  Chapter I – Chronicle of the Constitutional Contradiction – In this chronicle the heroine... Read More