Special Issue CFP: Dance and Protest
Editors: Serouj Aprahamian, Shamell Bell, Rachael Gunn, and MiRi Park
IASPM Journal is the peer-reviewed open-access e-journal of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM). As part of an international network, the journal aims to publish research and analysis in the field of popular music studies at both global and local levels.
The recent succession of protests and uprisings following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of (now former) Minneapolis police officers overwhelmingly included dance as a protest tactic. While dancers have long engaged in cultural acts of resistance, this iteration in the #blacklivesmatter movement stemmed directly from the efforts of dancers/activists who participated in the protests following the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Ezell Ford, and Michael Brown. Dancer/activist/scholar/mother Shamell Bell deemed “Street Dance Activism” as a protest tool to celebrate Black Joy in the face of Black death, and renowned dance scholar Brenda Dixon-Gottschild has noted how such actions have gained increasing visibility over the last decade.
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