Whitney Pirtle, associate professor of sociology at UC Merced, has co-authored a new article titled "On Joy and War: Black Feminism/Intersectionality" in the Annual Review of Sociology. This work explores the evolution of Black feminist theorizing, offering critical insights into its development and ongoing debates within academic and social spheres. From the article:
Black feminist theorizing developed outside the formal academy to meet the needs of Black women but did not end there. This review offers entrée to some current “wars” and debates on politics of knowledge about Black feminist theories, concepts, and praxis that have deepened within sociology and increasingly extend into live conference panels, online debates, and legislatures. Shared characteristics within Black feminism include persistent and critical attention to Black women's knowledge production, power, and social change—but there is much more. Drawing on sociology and other disciplines, this review of Black feminism/intersectionality covers families of Black feminisms, disciplinary citation trends, methodological considerations, and tensions around embodiment in claims to Black feminism and intersectionality. In the conclusions, we propose directions to untether conflicts, unsettle wars, and move toward joy and liberation as the struggle continues.
Read the full article here.
