Thesiss

In Cuban Lucumí practice, the Orisha are deities in a divine hierarchy. My artistic research showcases the development of my critical Orisha dance pedagogy as facilitated in a two-day event entitled the Orisha Dance Fête. Contemporarily, Orisha dance can be edified in two distin…

This thesis examines and initiates the process of filling a gap in the academic study of Orisha Music, a subfield of Africana Religions. Despite the integral role that akpons—the song leaders—play during Lucumi drumming ceremonies, most of the major works focus on drums and/or d…

Black transgender subjecthood places many at the crux of multiple marginalizations and often thinking the self apart, unable to find space in a world that isn’t built for those who are most marginalized. Between the persistent issues of colonialism and cisheterosexism Black tran…