Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Cuban Underground Hip Hop
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://drsaunders.squarespace.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
http://www.latam.ufl.edu/people/center-based-faculty/tanya-saunders/ * https://wst.ufl.edu/news/2016/welcome-dr-tanya-l-saunders/ * http://www.latam.ufl.edu/media/latamufledu/faculty-cv/Tanya-L-CV-Updated–copy.pdf * http://drsaunders.squarespace.com/curriculum-vita/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.:
no2015006793
LCCN Permalink:
https://lccn.loc.gov/no2015006793
HEADING:
Saunders, Tanya L.
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1_ |a Saunders, Tanya Latrice
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__ |a Cuban underground hip hop, 2016: |b ECIP t.p. (Tanya L. Saunders) data view (author, Saunders, Tanya Latrice)
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__ |a Ohio State University, Department of African American and African Studies Web site, viewed Jan. 15, 2015: |b Tanya Saunders Web page (Assistant Professor in the Department of African American and African Studies; Ph. D. in Sociology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Master of International Development Policy from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor) |u http://aaas.osu.edu/people/saunders.425
PERSONAL
Female.
EDUCATION:St. Mary’s College, B.A., 1998; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, M.P.P. (public policy), 2001; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, M.A., Ph.D., 2008 (sociology). Has also studied at the University of Salamanca (Spain), 1996, and the University of Amsterdam, Summer Institute on Sexuality, Culture and Society, 2001.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, visiting scholar and predoctoral fellow, 2007-8, postdoctoral fellow 2008-09, assistant professor, 2009-13; Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, assistant professor, 2013—. Also serves as an associate professor at the University of Florida, Center for Latin American Studies, Gainesville, FL.
Has served as an adjunct lecturer at Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI, 2006, and Harrisburg Area Community College, Lancaster Campus, 2007-09. Has been a visiting scholar at the University of Connecticut, Institute of Latina/o, Caribbean and Latin American Studies, 2012; New York University, Tisch School of Performance Studies, 2012-13; and Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil, 2016.
AWARDS:Predoctoral fellowship in Africana Studies, Lehigh University, 2007-2008; postdoctoral fellowship in Africana Studies, Lehigh University, 2008-2009; Fulbright scholar at Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2011-12; Women’s Center Student Award, Lehigh University, 2012.
WRITINGS
Contributor of articles to journals, including SOULS: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture and Society, Black Women Gender and Families, Feminist Media Studies, and the Caribbean Review of Gender Studies.
SIDELIGHTS
Tanya L. Saunders is assistant professor of African and African American studies at Ohio State University. Her research interests include the African diaspora, social movements, black feminism, black queer studies, race, gender, and Latin American and Caribbean studies. She was a 2011-12 Fulbright Scholar Award recipient for Brazil, where she analyzed urban arts-based social movements and grassroots-based urban alternative education movements at Universidade Federal Fluminense in Rio de Janeiro. She has published articles in journals, including Latin American Perspectives, Feminist Media Studies, and the Caribbean Review of Gender and Studies. Saunders holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, as well as a master of public policy from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, also at the University of Michigan. While completing her studies at Ann Arbor, Saunders planned a first-of-its kind event called El Proyecto, an international platform to reunite Cuban underground hip-hop artists and the global hip-hop movement in performance, art, and discourse.
In 2015, Saunders published Cuban Underground Hip Hop: Black Thoughts, Black Revolution, Black Modernity. The book describes the Cuban Underground Hip Hop Movement (CUHHM), a group of antiracist revolutionary youth who started a social movement that lasted from 1996-2006 and encouraged debate on racism and social and political change. Even after Cuba’s 1959 Communist revolution, racism remained a part of Cuban daily life, in part because of decades of US influence since the Cuban-American War. In a review at the Blavity Web site, Zuri Ward observed that Saunders views the CUHHM as “a vessel of social protest” that “had a significant feminist presence.”
The CUHHM attempted to alter individual and collective consciousness by fighting against inequality, especially as economic changes began in the 1990s, as well as critiquing social and economic life tied to colonial legacies. Saunders has drawn from over a decade of her own research and interviews to reveal the history of the CUHHM, its national and international debates, activism, the exodus of artists from Cuba, and Cuban identity. She discusses politics, race, sexuality, and gender in Cuba and the Americas.
In an interview with Tricia Long at the Lehigh University Web site, Saunders commented on the importance of arts education in Cuba: “People have access to arts and music in everyday life that is unlike here in the U.S.” Noting the importance of the CUHHM for Afro-Cuban youth, she then added:”In Cuba, they chose an aesthetic they thought could address the issues facing them. The spirit of hip hop is community based. It’s viewed as a tool to empower and educate people.”
BIOCRIT
ONLINE
AfroCubaWeb, http://www.afrocubaweb.com/ (June 14, 2017), profile.
Blavity, https://blavity.com/ (June 1. 2017), Zuri Ward, review of Cuban Underground Hip Hop.
Lehigh University, https://www1.lehigh.edu/ (March 31, 2008), Tricia Long, “Saunders Sheds Light on Cuban Underground Culture.”
Ohio State University, http://osu.academia.edu/ (June 14, 2017), faculty profile.
Tanya Saunders Home Page, http://drsaunders.squarespace.com (June 14, 2017).
University of Florida, Center for Latin American Studies, http://www.latam.ufl.edu (June 14, 2017), profile.
TANYA SAUNDERS
Associate Professor
Center for Latin American Studies
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Sociology of Culture, Social Identity (Race, Gender, Sexuality), Critical Queer Theory/Queer of Color Critique, African Diaspora Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Coloniality Studies, Sociology of Art, Comparative Sociology, Political Sociology, Sociology of Music, Qualitative Research Methods, Sociological Theory, Comparative Sociology, Postcolonial Studies
GEOGRAPHIC EXPERTISE
Cuba, Brazil
CURRICULUM VITAE
BACKGROUND
Dr. Tanya L. Saunders is interested in the ways in which the African Diaspora, throughout the Americas, use the arts as a central tool for social change. As a 2011-2012 Fulbright scholar to Brazil, she began work on her current project which analyzes urban arts-based social movements and grassroots-based urban alternative education movements in Brazil. Dr. Saunders holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a Master of International Development Policy from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.
Her new book on Cuban Underground Hip Hop can be found
Tanya L. Saunders, Ph.D.
Center for Latin American Studies
Center for Gender, Sexualities and Women's Studies Research
University of Florida
368 Grinter Hall; PO Box 115530
Gainesville, FL 32611-5530
Phone: +1.352.273.4720; Fax: +1.352.392.7682
E-mail: tanyasau@latam.ufl.edu
RESEARCH INTERESTS AND TEACHING COMPETENCIES
African Diaspora Studies, Social Movements, Black Feminisms, Black Queer Studies, Race, Gender, Sexuality, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Sociology of Culture, Sociology of Music, Sociology of Art, Coloniality Studies
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Assistant Professor 2013-Present
Department of African and African American Studies
Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Laboratório de Etnografia e Estudos em Comunicação, Cultura e Cognição
Fulbright Scholar, 2011-2012
Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA
Assistant Professor of Sociology 2009-2013
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Lehigh University Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA
Visiting Scholar – Predoctoral Fellow 2007-2008
Postdoctoral Fellow 2008-2009
Program in Africana Studies and Department of Sociology and Anthropology
International research Affiliations
International Collaborator; Research Group Rasuras - Estudos de Práticas de Leitura e Escrita, Federal University of Bahia: dgp.cnpq.br/dgp/espelhogrupo/6627930435931033
Visiting Scholar Appointments/Postdoctoral Fellowships
Visiting Professor of Graduate Studies, Federal University of Bahia January-May, 2016, Salvador, Bahia
Post-Doctoral Fellow: Artistic Expression, African Diaspora Studies and Social Change in Brazil. Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. Fall 2014
Visiting Scholar El Instituto: Institute of Latina/o, Caribbean and Latin American Studies, University of Connecticut Fall 2012
Visiting Scholar: Tisch School of Performance Studies NYU. 2012-2013
Selected Honors and Awards
2015-2017 Bolsa Abdias do Nascimento CAPES/Brazil
(Collaborations building grant, Co-PI/Awardee)
2011-2012 Fulbright Scholar Award
Lehigh University Predoctoral Fellowship in Africana Studies, 2007-2008
Lehigh University Postdoctoral Fellowship in Africana Studies, 2008-2009
Inter-American Development Bank Consultant 2000
Institute for International Public Policy Master Degree Fellowship, 1999
Ohio State University Small Faculty Research Grant (2014)
Lehigh University Women’s Center Student Award(2012)
Paul J. Franz Jr. Pre-Tenure Research Fellowship 2010
Lehigh University College of Arts and Sciences
Lehigh University Faculty Research Grant 2010
United Way of Oxford Mississippi Fellowship UM School of Business 2000
2012-2013 Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (Alternate)
Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship (Honorable Mention), 2007-2008
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Internship 1998
Institute for International Public Policy Fellowship, 1996-2001
WEB/MULTIMEDIA PROJECTS/APPEARANCES
Hip Hop in Cuba 2015: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/commentary/sfl-cuba-even-controls-rap-and-hiphop-20150602-story.html
Guest Reading via Skype; “Reflexões sobre o Hip Hop, Mudança Social e da Academia”. Em Perifeminas 2. Frente Nacional das Mulheres no Hip Hop, São Paulo, Brasil. – Book release event. March 7, 2014.
Out-FM WBAI; New York, New York - guest appearance April 2, 2013
Hip Hop Mulher WebTV; São Paulo, Brazil – guest appearance, June 22, 2012
The Hangout: Interview with Immortal Technique – Al Jazeera, May 30, 2012
Somos o Núcleo de Mulheres do Movimento Enraizados - Don@s da Arte Radio Show – interviewee, April 30, 2012
White Girls in Hip Hop: A Documentary Interviewee Film Release Date TBA
Video Consultant for: Reina D’ Mi Misma/Queen of Myself: Las Krudas CUBENSI d’ Cuba; a film by Celiany Rivera Velazquez
Saunders, Tanya and Celiany Rivera Co-Producers: T Con T: Lesbian Lives in Contemporary Cuba. (In post-production)
Scholarly Presentations
[Refereed presentations]
[2016 update forthcoming - in the meantime check out the Events link for upcoming lectures and presentations]
2015
Transnational Perspectives on Black Queer Activism: Reflections from Cuba and Brazil. American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, August 22-25
The Global Reach of Cuban Hip Hop Feminism: A Comparison of Cuba and Brazil
Tenth Conference on Cuban and Cuban American Studies. The Cuban Research Institute Annual Conference. Florida International University, Miami, FL. February 26-28
2014
Queer Left Activism / Queer Left Method. American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, Washington, DC. December 1-4.
2013
Theorizing Anarco-Punk Hip Hop Feminism: A Case Study from Brazil. Hip hop and Punk Feminisms: Theory, Genealogy, Performance, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, December 5-6.
Decolonial Politics and Transnational Black Lesbian Activism: A Comparative Analysis of Hip Hop Feminism in Cuba and Brazil, the Caribbean Philosophical Association Annual Conference, November 21-24, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Black Girl Power: Hip Hop Women, Black Feminist and Black Queer Politics in
Brazil, The Association for the World Wide Study of the African Diaspora (ASWAD) Annual Conference, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, October 30-November 2
The Black Lesbian International: A Comparative Analysis of Black Lesbian Activist and Hip Hop Feminism in Brazil and Cuba, Black Sexual Economies Conference, St. Louis, IL, September 27-29
The Queer of Color Critique as a Challenge to Coloniality: An Analysis of Global
Queer Activism and Hip Hop Feminism in Cuba and Brazil, Critical Ethnic Studies Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, September 19-21
2012
Global Hip Hop, Black Feminism and the Queer of Color Critique: An Analysis of Women-Centered Arts-Based Activism in Cuba and Brazil. American Studies Association Annual Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico, November 15th-18th
2011
Black Arts, Black Activism: Theorizing The Cuban Underground Hip Hop Movement. 6th Biennial ASWAD Conference, in Pittsburgh, PA., November 3-6
Black Thoughts, Black Activism: The Cuban Underground Hip Hop Movement and Afro-Latino Counter-Cultures of Modernity. American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, August 19-21
I'm a Feminist, But I don't Hate Men" Sexuality and Feminist Identity in Cuban Hip Hop. Society for the Study of Social Problems Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, August 19-21
Las Krudas CUBENSI, Cuban Hip Hop and the Queer of Color Critique. Eastern Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, February 24-27
2010
Globalizing Blackness: the Cuban underground Hip Hop Movement Caribbean Studies Association Annual Conference, St. Peter, Barbados, May 24-28
2009
Women of the World Unite! Raperas Las Krudas CUBENSI, and Contemporary Sexual Politics in Cuba, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. San Francisco, CA, August 8-11
A Song For The People: Culture, Hip Hop Aesthetics and Political Participation In Contemporary Cuba. Latin American Studies Association Annual Meeting. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 11-14
All the Homosexuals are Men and All the Women are Straight: How Heteronormativity Excluded Some Women from Cuba’s “Sexual Revolution. “The Measure of a Revolution, Cuba, 1959-2009. Queens University, Kingston, ON. May 7-9
2008
“The Alternative Music Scene, Underground Hip Hop and the Politics of Protest
Music,” American Sociological Association. Boston, MA. August 1-4
"The Cuban Remix: Rethinking Culture, Hip Hop Aesthetics and Political Participation In Contemporary Cuba,” 1968: Impact and Implications BSA Theory Study Group Conference in collaboration with Birkbeck Institute for Social Research. Birkbeck College, University of London. London, UK. July 3-4
“Where Are All the (Black) Women? Thinking Race and Gender in Cuba's Underground Lesbian Scene,” Race, Sex, Power: New Movements in Black & Latina/o Sexualities Conference, University of Chicago. Chicago, IL. April 10-12
“The Cuban Remix: Rethinking Race, Culture and Political Participation In Contemporary Cuba,” Bodies in Motion: Diaspora, Difference & Discursive Performances, University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, MI. March 27 – 28
“The Cuban Remix: Rethinking Culture and Social Activism in Contemporary Cuba,” A Changing Cuba in a Changing World, Bildner Center, CUNY. New York, NY. March 13-15
“¿Comó Fue OREMI? The State and non-heteronormative identities in Havana, Cuba” (Panel Organizer), Bildner Center Conference: “A Changing Cuba in a Changing World,” Bildner Center, CUNY. New York, NY. March 13-15
[Sessions chaired or organized]
2015
The Multiple Dimensions of Black Brazilian Women's Subjectivities. The Association for the Worldwide Study of the African Diaspora. Charleston, SC, November 4-7th
2014
Black Feminist and Black Queer Theory in the Americas. The National Women’s Studies Association Annual Conference. San Juan, Puerto Rico. November 13-16th
2013
Gendering African Diaspora Studies and Black Cultural Politics: Perspectives from Brazil. The Association for the World Wide Study of the African Diaspora (ASWAD) Annual Conference, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, October 30-November 2
2009
“Women of the Black Atlantic: Transnational Black Feminism and Global Hip Hop Movements," Panel Organizer/Chair. Latin American Studies Association Annual Meeting. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 11-14
2007
“Gendered, Racialized and (Hetero)Sexualized Public Spaces in Cuba’s Alternative Music Scene,” (Panel co-organized with Ashley Currier), North Central/Midwest Sociological Association. Chicago, IL. April 7
[Invited Lectures/Conference Panels]
2015
Thematic Session. Where is the Sex in Sexuality Studies. American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, August 22-25
2014
Hip Hop Feminismo Transnacional: Perspectivas de Cuba e Brasil. Universidade Pontifica Catolica, São Paulo, Brazil. November 26
Hip Hop and Urban Social Movements in Latin America: Notes from Cuba and Brazil. University of Cincinnati. September 8
Faculty Presentation. Pop! Steam Factory. Columbus, OH. April 23.
Author Meets Public Guest Lecture. (Skype Lecture) Perifeminas Book Release. São Paulo, Brazil. March 7.
Global Perspectives to Qualitative Research Methods, Graduate Course in Qualitative Research Methods. (Skype Lecture). Taught by Angela Gustus. Sojourner Truth College, Baltimore, MD February 12.
Transnational Black Lesbian Politics and Hip Hop. 2014 Sexuality Studies Lecture Series: New OSU Faculty in Sexuality Studies. The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. January 27
2013
Author Meets Critic panelist for Out in Africa: LGBT Organizing in Namibia and South Africa by Ashley Currier, National Women’s Studies Association Annual Conference, November 7-10, Cincinnati, OH
The Hip Hop Feminist International: An Analysis of Hip Hop Activism in Cuba and Brazil, Hip Hop Studies Days, Nazareth College, Rochester, NY, October 24
Global Perspectives to Qualitative Research Methods. Graduate Course in Qualitative Research Methods (Skype Lecture). Taught by Angela Gustus. Sojourner Truth College, Baltimore, MD February 6.
2012
A diáspora africana nas Américas como fonte de conhecimento, Festival de Mulher Afrolatino Americana e Caribenha. Brasilia, Brazil. July 23
Reflexões Negras, Revolução Negra: Hip Hop Cubano e Contra-Culturas de Modernidade, Universidade do Estado de Bahia, (UNEB-DEDC), Salvador Campus, Bahia, Brazil, July 18
Produção Cultural e Activismo Cubano: Uma analise do Hip Hop Underground e da Critica de Cor Queer: Universidade do Estado de Bahia, UNEB, Alagoinhas Campus, Bahia, Brazil, July 19th
Hip Hop Global e Mudança Social: Pontifícia Universidade Católica, Rio de Janeiro, June 6
O Circuito África/Brasil a partir de experiências de viagens e pesquisa:
CECAFRO-PUCSP (Pontifícia Universidade Católica, Centro de Estudos Africanos e da Diáspora), PUC-SP, São Paulo, Brazil, May 05
2011
Race, Gender and Sexuality in the Caribbean, Lehigh University, PA, November 28
Notes on Cuban Hip Hop and Artistic Activism and Havana’s Urban Space, Caribbean City Landscapes, Rutgers University, NJ, February 17
2010
Reina de Mi Misma: Las Krudas CUBENSI d’ Cuba: Film Screening and Panel Discussion, New York University, NY, November 10.
Globalized Hip Hop: Power from the Margins to the Mainstream: Interdisciplinary Panel and Discussion, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, November 5.
Gênero, Musica e Politica: O HIP-HOP e a presença lésbica em Cuba, Department of Anthropology and the Laboratório de Etnografia e Estudos em Comunicação, Cultura e Cognição, a CNPq Research Group, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 8.
Hip Hop and the African Diaspora: Comments, Universidade Federal Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil, June 18.
Film Screening and Discussion: Frekuencia Kolumbiana Presented at: Cultural Journeys Through the African Diaspora: Interdisciplinary Conference: April 22-24. City University of New York.
Guest Lecture: Qualitative Research Methods. Department of Sociology and Anthropology course in Research Methods, Professor Matthew Sanderson. Lehigh University. March 25.
MLK Brown-bag Participant on Social Justice. Lehigh University. January 26.
2009
Guest Lecture and Discussion with Dr. Ivor Miller in the course Comparative Politics: Vera Fennell Instructor, September 15.
2008
“Culture, Politics and Social Revolution: A Critical Analysis of Cuba's Underground Hip Hop Movement.” Sponsored by AYA: African American Studies Graduate Students, Temple University, November 21st
“Fresa y Chocolate - Film and Discussion,” Sponsored by Latin American Studies, Office of Multicultural Affairs and LGBTQA Lehigh University, PA. October16th
“The Cuban Remix: Underground Hip Hop and the Politics of Protest Music,” Rutgers University Department of Latino and Hispanic Caribbean Studies, October 14
“The Cuban Remix: Rethinking Culture and Political Participation In Contemporary Cuba,” Introduction to Global Studies, Instructor: Jack Lule, Lehigh University, PA. April 15
“Underground Hip Hop Feminism and Social Activism: Reflections on Cuba’s ‘Third Revolution’,” Rebels and Revolutionaries: Female Activists in American History, 1800-Present, Instructor: Holly Kent. Lehigh University, PA. April 14
“The Cuban Remix: Rethinking Culture and Political Participation In Contemporary Cuba,” Program in Africana Studies Public Lecture, Lehigh University, PA. February 21
Languages Fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese
[Book]
Saunders, Tanya. Cuban Underground Hip Hop: Black Thoughts, Black Revolution, Black Modernity. . University of Texas Press. Publication date 11/30/15
[Edited Volumes]
Saunders, Tanya. Special Issue of the Journal The Black Diaspora Review: The Future of African Diaspora Studies in Cuba." Vol. 5. No. 2 (Feb. 2016). https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/bdr/article/view/21036
[Articles/Book Chapters]
Saunders, Tanya. SomosMuchoMas: Arts-Based Public Spheres and Possiblities for Democratic Praxis in Post-Embargo Cuba. In Reforming Communism: Cuba in Comparative Perspective. University of Texas Press. Branche, Jerome, ed. (forthcoming)
Saunders, Tanya. “Towards a Transnational Hip Hop Feminist Liberatory Praxis.” In Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture, 22(2). Co-eds. Elaine Richardson and Gwendolyn Pough. (2016)
Saunders, Tanya. "Towards A Hemispheric Analysis of Black Lesbian Feminist Activism and Hip Hop Feminism: Artist Perspectives from Cuba and Brazil." In No Tea: No Shade: New Writings in Black Queer Studies. Edited by E. Patrick Johnson. (2016)
Saunders, Tanya. (2015) Black Women against the Land Grab: The Fight for Racial Justice in Brazil. Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews September. vol. 44 no. 5689-691
Saunders, Tanya. (2014) Rebel Dance, Renegade Stance. Timba Music and Black Identity in Cuba. Invited book-review for Anthropos: Official Journal of the Anthropos Institute; Sankt Augustin, Germany. A.109. 2014/2. 797
Saunders, Tanya. (2014) Flaming Souls and Sexual Revolutions in Cuba. Invited book-review for SIGNS: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. "Sexual Revolutions in Cuba: Passion, Politics, and Memory." SIGNS. Vol. 39, no. 3. (March): 813-817.
Saunders, Tanya. (2014) Social Stigma & Sexual Epidemics: Dangerous Dynamics. Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews May. vol. 43 no. 3 385-387
Saunders, Tanya (2014) “Reflexões sobre o Hip Hop, Mudança Social e da Academia”. Em Perifeminas 2. Frente Nacional das Mulheres no Hip Hop, São Paulo, Brasil. (Translated into Portuguese by Tanya Saunders)
Saunders, Tanya. (2012) “Black Thoughts, Black Activism Cuban Underground Hip-hop and Afro-Latino Countercultures of Modernity.” Latin American Perspectives. Volume 39 Issue 2 pp. 42 - 60.
Saunders, Tanya (2010). “Black Lesbians and Racial Identity in Contemporary Cuba.” In Black Women Gender and Families. Volume 4, Number 1, Spring. Champaign Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Saunders, Tanya (2009). Grupo OREMI: Black Lesbiansand the Struggle for Safe Social Space in Havana,” Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture and Society. London: Taylor and Francis: Issue 11 Vol. 2, 167 – 185.
Saunders, Tanya (2009). “La Lucha Mujerista: Krudas CUBENSI and Black Feminist Sexual Politics in Cuba.” Caribbean Review of Gender Studies, Mona, Jamaica: University of the West Indies: http://sta.uwi.edu/crgs/november2009/journals/CRGS%20Las%20Krudas.pdf
Rivera-Velázquez, C. and T. Saunders (2009). “Canta como Celia Baila como Juana: La Prima and the Queer Transnational (Re)enactment of Black Female Cuban Stardom”. Feminist Media Studies, 9-2, 259-262.
Research Interests
Sociology of Culture, Social Identity (Race, Gender, Sexuality), Critical Queer Theory/Queer of Color Critique, African Diaspora Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Coloniality Studies, Sociology of Art, Comparative Sociology, Political Sociology, Sociology of Music, Qualitative Research Methods, Sociological Theory, Comparative Sociology, Postcolonial Studies
- "DIÁLOGOS SOBRE GÊNERO" at IV Fórum Nacional de Mulheres no Hip Hop in San Paulo, Brazil (September 19, 2015)
- "Reflections on Artivism and Art-Based Social Movement: Lessons from Brazil and Cuba"at the Ohio State University in Columbus, OH (April 23, 2014)
- "Transnational Black Lesbian Politics and Hip Hop" at the Ohio State University in Columbus, OH (January 31, 2014)
1) 2011: Lehigh University Article about my upcoming Fulbright work in Brazil. Click HERE to read this article.
2) 2008: Lehigh University article about my postdoctoral position. CLICK HERE *** to read this article.
3) 2008: Morning Call article about El Proyecto, reprinted in the Denver Post. CLICK HERE *** to read this article.
Dr. Tanya L. Saunders is interested in the ways in which the African Diaspora, throughout the Americas use the arts as a central tool for social change. As a 2011-2012 Fulbright scholar to Brazil she began work on her current project which analyzes urban arts-based social movements and grassroots-based urban alternative education movements in Brazil. Dr. Saunders holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a Master of International Development Policy from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Her new book on Cuban Underground Hip Hop can be found here:http://goo.gl/fhqrBt
Tanya L. Saunders
1.0 | Ohio State University, African American and African Studies, Faculty Member +1 | Sociology of Culture +21
Dr. Tanya L. Saunders is an Assistant Professor of African American and African Studies at the Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. Her research examines the ways in which Black artists, intellectuals and activists throughout Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, employ cultural aesthetics, such as Hip Hop and contemporary art, to work for social change locally, nationally and transnationally. She is currently completing a book about the Underground Hip Hop Movement in Cuba and on a handful of articles that address the themes of social change, artistic movements and transnational Black identity.
Dr. Saunders has published articles based on this research in the journals: SOULS: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture and Society, Black Women Gender and Families, Feminist Media Studies and the Caribbean Review of Gender Studies. She is also a 2011-2012 Fulbright Scholar Award recipient for Brazil, where she will expand the regional focus of her work.
Her research interests are in the areas of: Sociology of Culture, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, African Diaspora Studies, Political Sociology, Social Identity and Inequality (Race, Gender and Sexuality), Sociology of Music, Sociology of Art.
Dr. Saunders can be contacted at: saunderstanya@gmail.com
Tanya Saunders
Assistant Professor, Department of African American and African Studies
Ohio State University
Dr. Tanya L. Saunders is an Assistant Professor in the Department of African American and African Studies. Dr. Saunders' academic interests are in the areas of Coloniality Studies/Postcolonial theory, Cultural Studies/Sociology of Culture, Afro-Latino Studies, arts-based social movements, race, gender, sexuality and critical queer theory. She is interested in the ways in which the African Diaspora, throughout the Americas - especially Afro-descendent gender and sexual minorities, have used the arts as a tool for social change. She has published in journals such as Latin American Perspectives, The Caribbean Review of Gender and Studies, Black Women, Gender and the Family, Feminist Media Studies, Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture and Society and has published articles both in Cuba and in Brazil. She has several forthcoming articles and book chapters, the most recent (at the time of this writing) is a 2013 Chapter in the anthology Black Gender and Sexualities. She was also a 2011-2012 Fulbright scholar to Brazil where she began work on her current project, which compares Hip Hop Feminism and Black Anarcha-feminism in Brazil.
Her current book Cuban Underground Hip Hop: Black Thoughts, Black Revolution and Black Modernity (2015), is available from the University of Texas Press. She holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a Master of International Development Policy from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. -- aaas.osu.edu/people/saunders.425
Cuban Underground Hip Hop: Black Thoughts, Black Revolution, Black Modernity (Latin American and Caribbean Arts and Culture)
Click here for pricing & to order ==> Amazon.com
Articles/Articulostop
Call for Papers: Black Diaspora Review Special Issue on the Afro Descendants in Post-Embargo Cuba 3/21/2015 Caribbean Studies Association: "The Black Diaspora Review (BDR) invites submissions for a special issue dedicated to the theme of Afro Descendants in Post-Embargo Cuba. We will accept contributions from a broad spectrum of disciplines including (but not limited to) history, sociology, psychology, anthropology and cultural studies. The editors invite submissions of original, previously unpublished manuscripts centered on the future of Cuban African Diaspora Studies in Post-Embargo Cuba, including the mission, areas of study, ideology, and methodologies. These aspects explore the ways in which Cuban African Diaspora Studies is interdisciplinary, includes intellectual production outside of the Cuban academy, and to consider its future in Cuba."
Book Reviews Flaming Souls: Homosexuality, Homophobia, and Social Change in Barbados 4/1/2014 Academia
La Lucha Mujerista: Krudas CUBENSI 1 and Black Feminist Sexual Politics in Cuba 6/1/2009 UWI Center for gender: "This essay analyzes the discursive intervention of the Cuban Underground hip-hop group, Las Krudas CUBENSI, whose members are Black feminist activists. From 1998 to 2006, their work in Cuba centered on challenging the oppressive discourses concerning Black women and Black lesbians within Cuban society. Las Krudas link Black women‘s, particularly Black lesbians‘, oppression to the ideological legacies of colonialism. I argue that Las Krudas‘ feminist discourse is a Black feminist critique because of their choice of art, particularly hip-hop, as a political aesthetic. Las Krudas‘ feminist discourse has become a key discourse within the hip-hop community. The data for this essay are drawn from ethnography, textual analysis, and interviews collected from 1998 to 2006."
Saunders sheds light on Cuban underground culture 3/31/2008 Lehigh University: "Tanya Saunders spends many a day tucked into her office in Price Hall from morning until night, plugging away at her dissertation and preparing a book manuscript. But in recent months, her writing has been interrupted by the chime of her e-mail, which she quickly attends to. She permits the distraction because many such e-mails bring good news from Cuban musicians and artists who have sorted out schedules, documentation and paperwork in anticipation of joining her for an upcoming conference here at Lehigh. Saunders, a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan, has been planning a first-of-its kind event called “El Proyecto,” which will bring her dissertation and years of research on Cuban culture to life. “El Proyecto seeks to play a key role in the global hip-hop movement and in Cuba’s underground hip-hop movement,” according to Saunders. “It’s the first international platform to reunite Cuban underground hip-hop artists and the global hip-hop movement in performance, art and discourse.” "
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About Dr. Saunders •May 10, 2008 • Comments Off on About Dr. Saunders
Dr. Tanya L. Saunders is an Assistant Professor of African American and African Studies at the Ohio State University. Her research examines the ways in which Black artists, intellectuals and activists throughout Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, employ cultural aesthetics, such as Hip Hop and contemporary art, to work for social change locally, nationally and transnationally. She is currently completing a book about the Underground Hip Hop Movement in Cuba and on a handful of articles that address the themes of social change, artistic movements and transnational Black identity.
Dr. Saunders has published articles based on this research in the journals: SOULS: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture and Society, Black Women Gender and Families, Feminist Media Studies and the Caribbean Review of Gender Studies. She is also a 2011-2012 Fulbright Scholar Award recipient for Brazil, where she will expand the regional focus of her work.
Her research interests are in the areas of: Sociology of Culture, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, African Diaspora Studies, Political Sociology, Social Identity and Inequality (Race, Gender and Sexuality), Sociology of Music, Sociology of Art.
Dr. Saunders can be contacted at: tas207@lehigh.edu.
Click Here to Read a Lehigh University article about my upcoming 2011-2012 work in Brazil!!!
Tanya Saunders, "Cuban Underground Hip Hop: Black Thoughts, Black Revolution, Black Modernity"
Wednesday, January 20, 2016 - 3:30pm
311 Denney Hall
Tanya Saunders, a brown skinned woman, closeup photo in profile
Join us for a book talk and reception in DISCO's Research and Creative Activity series. Reception after the talk with books available for purchase for $29.99, payable by cash or credit card.
Cuban Underground Hip Hop: Black Thoughts, Black Revolution, Black Modernity (University of Texas, 2015) focuses on a group of self-described antiracist, revolutionary youth who initiated a social movement (1996–2006) to educate and fight against these inequalities through the use of arts-based political activism intended to spur debate and enact social change. Their “revolution” was manifest in altering individual and collective consciousness by critiquing nearly all aspects of social and economic life tied to colonial legacies. Using over a decade of research and interviews with those directly involved, Tanya L. Saunders traces the history of the movement from its inception and the national and international debates that it spawned to the exodus of these activists/artists from Cuba and the creative vacuum they left behind. Shedding light on identity politics, race, sexuality, and gender in Cuba and the Americas, Cuban Underground Hip Hop is a valuable case study of a social movement that is a part of Cuba’s longer historical process of decolonization.
Bio
Dr. Tanya L. Saunders is an Assistant Professor in the Department of African American and African Studies. Dr. Saunders' academic interests are in the areas of identity formation, Coloniality Studies/Postcolonial theory, Cultural Studies, Sociology of Knowledge, Afro-Latino Studies, arts-based social movements, race, gender and sexuality. She is interested in the ways in which the African Diaspora, throughout the Americas use the arts as a central tool for social change. She has published in journals such as Latin American Perspectives, The Caribbean Review of Gender and Studies, Black Women, Gender and the Family, Feminist Media Studies, Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture and Society and has published articles both in Cuba and in Brazil. Dr. Saunders also co-edited an issue of the Black Diaspora Review (2015) on the future of African Diaspora Studies in post-embargo Cuba. As a 2011-2012 Fulbright scholar to Brazil she began work on her current project which analyzes urban arts-based social movements in Brazil, with a focus on their influence in both political mobilization among socially marginalized communities, and grassroots-based urban alternative education movements.
5/8/17, 9)27 AM
Print Marked Items
Saunders, Tanya L.: Cuban Underground Hip
Hop: Black Thoughts, Black Revolution, Black
Modernity
Journal of Pan African Studies.
9.4 (July 2016): p437. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2016 Journal of Pan African Studies http://www.jpanafrican.org/
Full Text:
Saunders, Tanya L. Cuban Underground Hip Hop: Black Thoughts, Black Revolution, Black Modernity. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2015, pp.368, ISBN: 1477307702.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
This work focuses on a group of self-described antiracist, revolutionary youth who initiated a social movement (19962006) to educate and fight against these inequalities through the use of arts-based political activism intended to spur debate and enact social change. Their "revolution" was manifest in altering individual and collective consciousness by critiquing nearly all aspects of social and economic life tied to colonial legacies. Using over a decade of research and interviews with those directly involved, the author traces the history of the movement from its inception and the national and international debates that it spawned to the exodus of these activists/artists from Cuba and the creative vacuum they left behind.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Saunders, Tanya L.: Cuban Underground Hip Hop: Black Thoughts, Black Revolution, Black Modernity." Journal of
Pan African Studies, vol. 9, no. 4, 2016, p. 437. PowerSearch, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
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p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA461364218&it=r&asid=f8251777dd4cbd14b3adbf6543943be5. Accessed 8 May 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A461364218
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Saunders, Tanya L.: Cuban underground hip hop: black thoughts, black revolution, black modernity
L.E. Shaw
CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries. 53.10 (June 2016): p1528. From Book Review Index Plus.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Shaw, L.E. "Saunders, Tanya L.: Cuban underground hip hop: black thoughts, black revolution, black modernity."
CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, June 2016, p. 1528. PowerSearch,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do? p=GPS&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA454942923&it=r&asid=e575dbb3b901e9b58ff916dc3c62bd7f. Accessed 8 May 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A454942923
about:blank Page 3 of 3
Blavity, https://blavity.com/ (June 1. 2017), review of Cuban Hip Hop.
Cuban hip-hop: Why black Americans should take a listen
https://blavity.com/cuban-hip-hop-black-americans-take-listen/
Zuri Ward
While everyone else is rushing to board a Carnival cruise to the island, I’m excited to learn more about Cuban music. After seeing the footage of the now historical Diplo concert in Havana, I wonder how wild a crowd of Americans would get if a Cuban act touched down. I can imagine there would be a migration of very cultured fans that would come out and support the show. However, I don’t see the same level of excitement that took over Havana a few weeks ago happening here. Why? You might be thinking language is a barrier, but that didn’t stop those Cuban concert-goers from turning up. So what’s our excuse for not jumping to enjoy new music by artists who look like us? Why wouldn’t we want to listen to stories that sound so much like ours? My curiosity prompted me to take a step to improve U.S.-Cuba relations in my own mind. Hip-hop being my genre of choice, I wanted to find out what Cuban hip-hop looks, sounds and feels like. According to Tanya Saunders, Cuban hip-hop has been a vessel of social protest since the early 1990s. In her book, Cuban Underground Hip Hop: Black Thoughts, Black Revolution, Black Modernity, Saunders explores the activism that spawned the Cuban Underground Hip Hop Movement (CUHHM). Saunders believes the CUHHM was most active between 1995 and 2006 and had a significant feminist presence.
In further research of the CUHHM, I learned a little about Cuban history and began to realize that this hip-hop looks a lot like black American hip-hop. If you’re wondering what you have in common with the average Cuban hip-hop fan, you should consider what you have in common with the average Afro-Cuban individual. Cuba is commonly referred to as a non-racial nation. As a result, people might assume that black Cubans don't face the same issues as black people in America. However, issue of race was a problem prior to the Cuban revolution. Much like America, Cuba has denounced racism but failed to recreate institutions built on racism. In both countries, it's clear that simply declaring equality does not erase the disparities created by years of injustice. Though I might not be bilingual, I have a feeling that I would be feeling what Cuban emcees are saying. I found that there are a host of places to learn about and experience Cuban hip-hop right here in the U.S. However, I am interested to see what it’s like to experience Cuban hip-hop in its native land. I might be hopping on a Carnival cruise pretty soon after all.
Lehigh University, https://www1.lehigh.edu/ (March 31, 2008), Tricia Long, “Saunders sheds light on Cuban underground culture.”
https://www1.lehigh.edu/news/saunders-sheds-light-cuban-underground-culture
--Tricia Long
By:
Posted on:
Monday, March 31, 2008
Tanya Saunders spends many a day tucked into her office in Price Hall from morning until night, plugging away at her dissertation and preparing a book manuscript.
But in recent months, her writing has been interrupted by the chime of her e-mail, which she quickly attends to. She permits the distraction because many such e-mails bring good news from Cuban musicians and artists who have sorted out schedules, documentation and paperwork in anticipation of joining her for an upcoming conference here at Lehigh.
Saunders, a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan, has been planning a first-of-its kind event called “El Proyecto,” which will bring her dissertation and years of research on Cuban culture to life.
“El Proyecto seeks to play a key role in the global hip-hop movement and in Cuba’s underground hip-hop movement,” according to Saunders. “It’s the first international platform to reunite Cuban underground hip-hop artists and the global hip-hop movement in performance, art and discourse.”
Saunders came to Lehigh through a new College of Arts and Sciences Visiting Predoctoral/Postdoctoral Scholars program, which welcomed Saunders and University of Chicago doctoral candidate Jaime Pensado in fall 2007. Both Saunders and Pensado bring fresh perspectives to their departments and strengthen research efforts.
The program was designed to further enhance work in the humanities, social sciences, and interdisciplinary programs. Fellows receive financial support for two years while completing their dissertations and gaining teaching experience under the guidance of faculty mentors. Fellows complete their dissertations while in residence the first year, teach one course, and engage in the intellectual activities on campus.
Saunders is a fellow in the Africana Studies program where she works closely with director William Scott to further develop the program. She also works with the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Her research and dissertation analyzes the Cuban government’s move to institutionalize culture as a means to increase democratic participation on the island and empower the masses.
“People have access to arts and music in everyday life that is unlike here in the U.S.,” says Saunders.
Through many trips to this northern Caribbean nation, Saunders has observed the socialization of Cuban culture. At an early age, Cuban children are taught that arts education is equally important to lessons in the sciences. Every neighborhood includes a House of Culture, which offers a grassroots, community-based arts experience for its residents.
Saunders’s research is specifically analyzing Cuba’s underground hip-hop artists and intellectuals. Hip-hop emerged in Cuba in the ’90s, and was quickly embraced as a critical voice of the country’s counterculture.
“Globally, people respect and admire the humanitarian aspect of hip-hop,” says Saunders. “There is a critique of the U.S. that hip-hop is not appreciated and wasn’t developed into something meaningful—that it lacks social and spiritual significance.”
Hip-hop took hold in Cuba in a completely different manner than it did when it popularized in the U.S. Cuban artists transformed this typically American art form to critique racial inequality and political struggles as well as chronicle their daily lives as citizens of this socialist nation. Her research is also examining how the hip hop culture has been central to the surfacing of an Afro-Cuban identity among Havana’s black urban youth.
“In Cuba, they chose an aesthetic they thought could address the issues facing them,” adds Saunders. “The spirit of hip hop is community based. It’s viewed as a tool to empower and educate people.”
Cuban artists will converge at the University Center April 18-19 for “El Proyecto” (The Project). The event centers on the social and political impact of Cuban Underground Hip-Hop locally and globally, and will feature internationally renowned speakers, theatre productions, Cuban hip hop’s most cutting edge artists, and a new documentary by the acclaimed director Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi.