We’re reimagining Black feminism and fugitivity, y’all! In this episode, Alyssa and Brendane are joined by graduate student and educator Naomi Simmons-Thorne. Together, they unpack fugitivity, bridging the bifurcation in Black feminist theory, the attack on CRT, fugitive pedagogy, and and COVID in the classroom. What’s the Word? Fugitivity. We discuss the development of fugitivity…
S2 E4: Fleeing the Plantation
S2 E3: 600 Years A Slave
We may have left the plantation, but the plantation never left us! In this episode Brendane and Alyssa unpack afterlives, the plantation, futurity, and the singularity that continues to shape the present: slavery. In our introduction we take a moment to remember the late Dr. Steven Gregory, Professor of Anthropology and the inaugural Dr. Kenneth…
S2 E2: Big Girl, Small World
In this episode, Alyssa and Brendane unpack questions of fatphobia, anti-blackness, and how that intersects with the discursive. For What’s the Word?, we discuss discourse to understand how understandings of the world circulate, of course referencing one of our fave French philosophers: Michel Foucault. Today, we read the essay “Fat, Black, and Ugly: The Semiotic…
S2 E1: Liberation Don’t Cost a Thang
The revolution will not be sold! We’re back with the first episode Season 2! In today’s episode, Brendane and Alyssa share what they got up to over the summer break and then jump right into the episode unpacking the philosophical concept of Aesthetics and how it is bound up in politics and power. In the…
S1 E20: Black Like Kim K: On Cultural Appropriation
Cultural appropriation is not the sincerest form of flattery! On today’s episode, Alyssa and Brendane tackle the slippery concept that is cultural appropriation. In What’s The Word? they tackle the age old anthropological question of what is “culture,” and explain what cultural appropriation most certainly is not. What We’re Reading for this episode is bell…
S1 E19: Keep Nope Alive
Happy Earthstrong to our resident Gemini, Brendane! This week we’re bringing you the mental health and self-care episode. We open up with chatting about what we’re doing to take care of ourselves. In our What’s the Word? segment, we discuss Dr. Arline Geronimus’ concept of weathering and how chronic racial stress impacts our physical and…
S1 E18: Abolition Is Not a Metaphor
Abolition is not about your feelings! It’s the long awaited episode where we discuss in detail what it means to be and practice PIC (prison-industrial complex) abolition. In our What’s the Word? segment, Brendane and Alyssa unpack Michel Foucault’s concept of discipline and docile bodies to think about the way power compels us to regulate…
S1 E17: Hot Girl Semester
So you want to go to grad school?! It’s the episode you’ve been waiting for: Brendane and Alyssa talk all things PhD life while incorporating that critical analysis you know and love. In our What’s the Word segment, we discuss the four waves of feminism and why people have got intersectionality à la Kimberlé Crenshaw…
S1 E16: The Empire Claps Back
We did more than write, hunny! In this episode, Alyssa & Brendane explain the what happened between them and Dr. Kiona AKA How Not to Travel Like a Basic Bitch and the “multiracial coalition” on Instagram that led to the baby viral YouTube video. It’s a conversation on theory and practice, particularly how theory and…
S1 E15: B**** Better Have My Money!
Mo’ money, fewer problems? Today, Brendane & Alyssa take on the question of getting that government guap – reparations, baby! Our new sound is finally here – shout out to our music producer Segnon Tiewul for di big tuuuune! Let us know what you think on Twitter and Instagram. Additionally, the Graduate Workers at Columbia…