Signifyin(g), Sanctifyin', and Slam Dunking: A Reader in African American Expressive Culture

by Gena Dagel Caponi

Overview

Observers of American society have long noted the distinctive contribution of African Americans to the nation's cultural life. We find references to African American music and dance, black forms of oral expression, even a black style of playing basketball. But what do such terms really mean? Is it legitimate to talk about a distinct African American aesthetic, or is this simply a vestige of an outmoded racial essentialism? What makes a particular form of cultural expression "black" other than the fact that some African Americans may practice it? These are some of the questions addressed in the readings gathered in this volume by Gena Dagel Caponi. The essays, some previously published and others new, spring from a variety of disciplines and cover a broad range of topics, from the communal ritual of the ring shout to the evolution of rap to the improvisational genius of Michael Jordan. While each piece focuses on a different aspect of African American expressive culture, together they reveal a set of creative principles, techniques, and practices—a cultural aesthetic—that is remarkably consistent and resilient.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781558491830
Publisher:	University of Massachusetts Press
Publication date:	10/12/1999
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	480
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Gena Dagel Caponi is Associate Professor of American studies at the University of Texas, San Antonio, and author of Paul Bowles: Romantic Savage.

What People are Saying About This

Roger D. Abrahams

This is the Golden Age of African American cultural scholarship, and this anthology brings together some of the animating ideas and important documents out of which that scholarship has grown.

Editorial Reviews

"This is the Golden Age of African-American cultural scholarship, and this anthology brings together some of the animating ideas and important documents out of which that scholarship has grown."—Roger D. Abrahams, author of Singing the Master: The Emergence of African American Culture in the Plantation South

"Despite the recent flourishing of seminal and influential works in African-American literary theory, cultural studies, and cultural history, there exists no single book that offers interpretive readings of African-American expressive culture across disciplinary boundaries that is viable as an undergraduate text. I most certainly would order this collection for my class."—John Gennari, University of Virginia

From the Publisher

Despite the recent flourishing of seminal and influential works in African-American literary theory, cultural studies, and cultural history, there exists no single book that offers interpretive readings of African-American expressive culture across disciplinary boundaries that is viable as an undergraduate text. I most certainly would order this collection for my class.

John Gennari

This is the Golden Age of African-American cultural scholarship, and this anthology brings together some of the animating ideas and important documents out of which that scholarship has grown.

Roger D. Abrahams

Is there an African American aesthetic, or is such a concept a reinforcement of racial stereotyping? If there is such an aesthetic, what are some of its characteristics? Although this anthology does not provide definitive answers to such questions, its explorations make for provocative reading. The pieces (written by authors like Zora Neale Hurston and John Edgar Wideman and ranging from gospel to rap) trace African American culture back to Africa and demonstrate the influences of an African American aesthetic on American culture in general. The book is divided into three sections: music and dance (by far the largest); signifyin'--that is, oral expression; and sports. Left out are "visual art, film, humor [and] theater." Though some of the writings are uneven, and there are notable omissions (e.g., the Black Arts Movement), this engaging collection from Caponi (American Studies, Univ. of Texas, San Antonio) will be of interest to students of black studies and cultural studies. For public and academic libraries.--Louis J. Parascandola, Long Island Univ., Brooklyn, NY Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

With quotes from author Ralph Ellison and others, the editor's introduction makes a case for an African American aesthetic. The 21 readings, representing diverse timeframes (1920s to 1990s) and endeavors (music and dance, the oral art of satiric signifying, and sports and public displays of the body), shed light on the issues of: What is "black" in black culture? What purpose is served by identifying a unique African American style? How have these forms of cultural expression shaped American life? Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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