Alisha Lola Jones | Flaming? The Peculiar Theopolitics of Fire and Desire in Black Male Gospel Performance

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC | Dr. Alisha Lola Jones will talk about her new book, Flaming? The Peculiar Theopolitics of Fire and Desire in Black Male Gospel Performance. Male-centered theology, a dearth of men in the pews, and an overrepresentation of queer males in music ministry: these elements coexist within the spaces of historically black Protestant churches, creating an atmosphere where simultaneous heteropatriarchy and "real" masculinity anxieties, archetypes of the "alpha-male preacher", the "effeminate choir director" and homo-antagonism, are all in play. The "flamboyant" male vocalists formed in the black Pentecostal music ministry tradition, through their vocal styles, gestures, and attire in church services, display a spectrum of gender performances—from "hyper-masculine" to feminine masculine—to their fellow worshippers, subtly protesting and critiquing the otherwise heteronormative theology in which the service is entrenched. And while the performativity of these men is characterized by cynics as "flaming," a similar musicalized "fire"— that of the Holy Spirit—moves through the bodies of Pentecostal worshippers, endowing them religio-culturally, physically, and spiritually like "fire shut up in their bones". Using the lenses of ethnomusicology, musicology, anthropology, men's studies, queer studies, and theology, Dr. Jones will demonstrate the ways in which gospel music and performance can afford African American men not only greater visibility, but also an affirmation of their fitness to minister through speech and song.

Dr. Alisha Lola Jones is an assistant professor in the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University (Bloomington). Dr. Jones is a council member of the Society for Ethnomusicology’s (SEM), American Musicological Society (AMS) and co-chair of the Music and Religion Section of the American Academy of Religion (AAR). Her book Flaming?: The Peculiar Theopolitics of Fire and Desire in Black Male Gospel Performance (April 2020, Oxford University Press) breaks ground by analyzing the role of gospel music making in constructing and renegotiating gender identity among black men. Dr. Jones' research interests include musical masculinities, global pop music, future studies, ecomusicology, music and theology, the music industry, musics of the African diaspora and emerging research on music and future foodways (gastromusicology). Through her production firm InSight Initiative, she and her partner Rev. Calvin Taylor Skinner consult live event production credits include work with YouTube, Google, and the Shed multi-arts center in NYC in collaboration with film director Steve McQueen, music advisor Quincy Jones, lead music researcher Maureen Mahon, music director Greg Phillinganes, and author Nelson George. 

To RSVP and request link, email josephalpar@bennington.edu.