(Summer Short) Beyoncé’s Revolutionary Shout-Outs: The Politics of Citation in Lemonade, Homecoming, and Renaissance
Throughout her career, Beyoncé has celebrated the women who have shaped her growth, thus engaging in the Black feminist tradition of citation. Bianca C. Williams reminds us that “[Black feminist] citational practices not only concern an individual knowledge-making journey but also connect to mentoring and community-building.” We will explore this practice in three of Beyonce’s masterworks: Lemonade, Homecoming, and Renaissance. How might we think about Beyoncé’s shout outs as an act of resistance that highlights the unrecognized work of Black women artists? What are the limits and possibilities of such gestures? And how might Beyoncé’s citational practice model new approaches to creating counternarratives that center Black women?
About the Speaker
Sarita Cannon is professor of English at San Francisco State University, where she teaches 20th-century U.S. Literatures. She is the author of Black-Native Autobiographical Acts: Navigating the Minefields of Authenticity (Lexington Books, 2021).
About Summer Shorts
Summer Shorts are one-time livestreamed and recorded seminars open to OLLI @Berkeley members and non-members. Just $30 a Short. Shorts take place on Fridays in June, from 10–noon.