Disciplining Women: Alpha Kappa Alpha, Black Counterpublics, and the Cultural Politics of Black Sororities

by Deborah Elizabeth Whaley

Overview

An interdisciplinary look Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA), the first historically Black sorority.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781438432724
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	09/01/2010
Pages:	218
Sales rank:	297,263
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Deborah Elizabeth Whaley is Assistant Professor of American Studies and African American Studies at the University of Iowa.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations vii

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Stomp the Yard, School Daze, and the Cultural Politics of Black Greek-Letter Organizations 13

Chapter 2 Alpha Kappa Alpha, Black Counterpublics, and the Ambiguity of Social Reform 29

Chapter 3 Stepping into the African Diaspora: Alpha Kappa Alpha and the Production of Sexuality and Femininity in Sorority Step Performance 59

Chapter 4 Disciplining Women, Respectable Pledges, and the Meaning of a Soror: Alpha Kappa Alpha and the Transformation of the Pledge Process 87

Chapter 5 Voices of Collectivity/Agents of Change: Alpha Kappa Alpha and the Future of Black Counterpublics 117

Conclusion: Sorority Sisters 143

Appendix: Alpha Kappa Alpha Fact Sheet 151

Notes 153

Glossary 177

Bibliography 181

Index 201

What People are Saying About This

Katrina Bell

Disciplining Women provides a unique outsider's/insider's peek into a world known only to a very few, and it situates that world within a larger context of black culture and black women's activism. (Katrina Bell McDonald, author of Embracing Sisterhood: Class, Identity, and Contemporary Black Women)

Ricky L. Jones

Disciplining Women is a well-written scholarly engagement that drills deeper than most other recent works on this subject. As a political philosopher, I was impressed by the use of strong theory to shore up arguments. (Ricky L. Jones, author of Black Haze: Violence, Sacrifice, and Manhood in Black Greek-Letter Fraternities)

Editorial Reviews

"...Disciplining Women is a deeply thought-out and well-constructed study that does as it intends to do by dissecting the meanings inherent in Black sorority life. Whaley's own identity as insider-outsider complicates her cultural readings of AKA and BGLOs in general and makes her analyses rich and provocative." - Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth

"...Whaley offers a fair and even treatment of Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) history ... This book will be of particular interest to scholars of women's organizations, social movements, and activist groups. In addition, Whaley's work is a valuable contribution to the growing literature on fraternal organizations." - Journal of American History

"An insightful book that opens up a worthwhile discussion of a new intellectual discourse about the young generation." - CHOICE

"Disciplining Women provides a unique outsider's/insider's peek into a world known only to a very few, and it situates that world within a larger context of black culture and black women's activism." - Katrina Bell McDonald, author of Embracing Sisterhood: Class, Identity, and Contemporary Black Women

"Disciplining Women is a well-written scholarly engagement that drills deeper than most other recent works on this subject. As a political philosopher, I was impressed by the use of strong theory to shore up arguments." - Ricky L. Jones, author of Black Haze: Violence, Sacrifice, and Manhood in Black Greek-Letter Fraternities

From the Publisher