more asa (finally)
Saturday's panel was "Visualizing the Diaspora in a Transnational American Studies Context: Resistance, Representation, and Relationships in Visual Imagery across the African Diaspora."
CHAIR and COMMENT:
Fath Davis Ruffins, National Museum of American History
PAPERS:
Cheryl LaRoche, University of Maryland, College Park
Envisioning Escape from Slavery: Landscapes of Resistance in the African Diaspora
Envisioning Escape from Slavery: Landscapes of Resistance in the African Diaspora
Isabell Cserno, University of Maryland, College Park
Nationhood and Diaspora: Visual Representations and Race in Advertisements in Germany and the US
Nationhood and Diaspora: Visual Representations and Race in Advertisements in Germany and the US
Bridget Cooks, Santa Clara University
Re-imagining the Stereotype across the Diaspora: Contemporary Self-Portraits by Black Artists
Re-imagining the Stereotype across the Diaspora: Contemporary Self-Portraits by Black Artists
Juergen Heinrichs (I just made the connection--he sends out the CAAR listserv), Seton Hall University
Towards a Black German Art Practice: Diasporic Translation in the Works of Marc Brandenburg
Loved it. The presentations were all quite good--I had never heard of Marc Brandenburg so I was happy to be introduced to his work, and I was thrilled to overhear that, even with her recently acquired (2004) terminal degree, Cheryl LaRoche is an independent scholar. Bridget showed my work as part of her presentation, which is always fun yet a little weird to be sitting there while your butt is projected at 6 feet. Isabell I had met years ago when I went to give a talk at Maryland, so it was lovely to get to hear her work this time around. I don't recall a single French theorist, though I could be wrong.
But the star of this show was Fath Davis Ruffins. She wasn't originally supposed to be the discussant but had to fill in at the last minute. Let me just say again how impressed I am by a good discussant--even though you're supposed to get a copy of everyone's paper beforehand, you don't always get final versions because, of course, presenters are often writing up until the night before. Now, I liked her just by looking at her--you know how there's some folks who just seem approachable and warm--that was her. Well, she hit the ground running--I've never seen a discussant give such concise and dead-on critiques to the contributors (usually they don't actually give critiques at all). Her responses were thoughtful and informed, her knowledge expansive. I grabbed my program thinking, if she teaches somewhere, maybe I do want a PhD. I could just imagine working with her--she'd keep you on your toes, wouldn't let you bullshit, and would come through with knowledge when you needed it.
One of the things she said in relation to Marc Brandenburg resonated then and even more last night during Passing Strange about black expatriates who go to Europe, that perhaps they're not so much escaping the oppression of the dominant white culture but that they might also be escaping African-American culture, in part to realize an individual identity separate from a group. I had not thought of this before, and though I don't get the attraction of Europe at all I found this to be a useful way of thinking about Europe's value to black Americans.
And I also got to meet a really lovely young man, Hanif O'Neil, a graduate student in visual criticism at CCA. His area of interest is Abercrombie & Fitch. I can't wait to see what he has to say. Maybe I can bring him to the crit next week.
Towards a Black German Art Practice: Diasporic Translation in the Works of Marc Brandenburg
Loved it. The presentations were all quite good--I had never heard of Marc Brandenburg so I was happy to be introduced to his work, and I was thrilled to overhear that, even with her recently acquired (2004) terminal degree, Cheryl LaRoche is an independent scholar. Bridget showed my work as part of her presentation, which is always fun yet a little weird to be sitting there while your butt is projected at 6 feet. Isabell I had met years ago when I went to give a talk at Maryland, so it was lovely to get to hear her work this time around. I don't recall a single French theorist, though I could be wrong.
But the star of this show was Fath Davis Ruffins. She wasn't originally supposed to be the discussant but had to fill in at the last minute. Let me just say again how impressed I am by a good discussant--even though you're supposed to get a copy of everyone's paper beforehand, you don't always get final versions because, of course, presenters are often writing up until the night before. Now, I liked her just by looking at her--you know how there's some folks who just seem approachable and warm--that was her. Well, she hit the ground running--I've never seen a discussant give such concise and dead-on critiques to the contributors (usually they don't actually give critiques at all). Her responses were thoughtful and informed, her knowledge expansive. I grabbed my program thinking, if she teaches somewhere, maybe I do want a PhD. I could just imagine working with her--she'd keep you on your toes, wouldn't let you bullshit, and would come through with knowledge when you needed it.
One of the things she said in relation to Marc Brandenburg resonated then and even more last night during Passing Strange about black expatriates who go to Europe, that perhaps they're not so much escaping the oppression of the dominant white culture but that they might also be escaping African-American culture, in part to realize an individual identity separate from a group. I had not thought of this before, and though I don't get the attraction of Europe at all I found this to be a useful way of thinking about Europe's value to black Americans.
And I also got to meet a really lovely young man, Hanif O'Neil, a graduate student in visual criticism at CCA. His area of interest is Abercrombie & Fitch. I can't wait to see what he has to say. Maybe I can bring him to the crit next week.
posted by Carla at 9:48 AM
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