Context

My interest in this project is animated by 1) my lifelong deep study of Africana epistemologies and cosmologies; 2) my psychological and psychocultural response to the complex, interlaced, shifting conditions of Africana peoples in the U.S. and abroad; 3) my quest for a new and original orientation and fresh articulation of the public humanities as a critical, transformative discipline in society. The Living Tradition is a vehicle for conceptualizing and disseminating diverse species of presentation, pedagogy, and creative scholarship in order to attract, connect, and engage new publics, and to reconsider previous ones. The project can potentially impact the field by broadening and enacting new conceptions of creativity and knowledge-making, by identifying distinctive, culturally responsive methodologies that define humanities research, and by moving beyond the limitations of traditional, staid critique and praxis frameworks.

As a legitimate source of cultural power and knowledge, The Living Tradition has the potential to center arts and humanities, historical recovery, and public engagement through the enactment of theories, practices, and ways of being that activate Ancestor narratives, voices, and unrealized possibilities. This project can create opportunities for scholars, artists, educators, students, youth, and arts patrons to experience and co-create rich, thought-provoking discussions, multimedia presentations, and provides a segue to critical conversations on prescient sociopolitical and sociocultural issues.