Alisha Lola Jones will discuss her recent book, Flaming? The Peculiar Politics of Fire and Desire in Black Male Gospel Performance (Oxford University Press, 2020). This event will stream live via the IU Arts and Humanities Council’s Facebook page.
Historically-black Protestant churches are spaces where male-centered theology, a dearth of men in the pews, and an overrepresentation of queer men in music ministry coexist, creating an atmosphere where simultaneous heteropatriarchy, anxieties about “real” masculinity, archetypes of the “alpha-male preacher” and the “effeminate choir director,” and homo-antagonism are all in play. In Flaming?, Professor Jones examines how male vocalists traverse their tightly-knit social networks and negotiate their identities through and beyond the worship experience.
Alisha Lola Jones is Assistant Professor of Folklore and Ethnomusicology, where she specializes in religious music in the African diaspora, the music industry, gender and sexuality, and musical masculinities, among other topics. Named an Innovator by the University of Chicago and Yale Divinity School, where she received her Ph.D. and M.Div., respectively, Professor Jones is an ordained preacher as well as an operatic soprano, and has performed around the world.
Presented by CAHI and the IU Arts and Humanities Council.
The College of Arts