Humphrey, Ashley R
(2020)
Take Me Brown Girl!: A Study of the Subjugation and Liberation of Black Women in Capoeira Song.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
This is the latest version of this item.
Abstract
The spread of capoeira outside of Brazil to the remainder of Latin America, North America, Africa, Europe, and Asia resulted in the proliferation of the Afro-Brazilian practice beyond the inception of the once-vilified game in nineteenth century Rio de Janeiro. Reconciling the need for liberation of African-descended Brazilians with the desire to model Brazil’s republic after its European forefathers crippled the nation as it struggled to move forward. Emancipation in Brazil left the country with a disenfranchised, marginalized, and vilified Black population who were left out of the creation of a modern Brazil, while holding on to their cultural products, like capoeira, that are markers of Brazilian identity as we know it. Among these cultural artifacts and practices are syncretic religious practices like candomblé and music like samba. The United States also has a parallel history of Black populations enduring slavery, while simultaneously providing the country with the labor to stimulate the economy and cultural artifacts and practices that have become intertwined with what American-ness means in an era of globalization. While the conditions of slavery, racism, and nation-building in both countries have different contexts, they are inextricably bound in the subjugation of Black bodies and disavowal of Black intellectual property to be utilized and coopted by the State that habitually facilitates the erasure of Black experiences and Black voices. It is not through the mechanisms that distinguish Brazil from the United States, but through their histories that they become points of references to each other. My primary exploration in this dissertation is to look at the ways experiences of Black people in Brazil and the United States inform each other. Through the experiences of Black women in pre-established capoeira networks, women utilize technology to amplify their messages of inclusion and activism as they contribute to the dissemination and circulation of capoeira knowledge within the African diaspora as well as between Brazil and the United States in the twenty-first century.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
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| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
8 June 2020 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
1 April 2020 |
| Approval Date: |
8 June 2020 |
| Submission Date: |
10 April 2020 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
176 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Music |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
capoeira, music, capoeira music, capoeira history, capoeira song, diaspora, African diaspora, Black studies, Brazil, Brazilian studies, cultural studies, gender studies, virtual communities, 21st century capoeira, intersectionality, martial arts, feminist discourse, ethnomusicology, performance, dance, social media, activism, women leaders, political engagement |
| Date Deposited: |
08 Jun 2020 16:27 |
| Last Modified: |
08 Jun 2020 16:27 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/39050 |
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