Mixtheory: Non-Linguistic Communal Expression in African American Literature by Jennifer Johns Sieck A.B., Davidson College, 1991 M.A., Union-PSCE, 1993 M.A., The George Washington University, 2006 M.Phil., The George Washington University, 2007 A Dissertation submitted to The Faculty of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 16, 2010 Dissertation directed by Jennifer C. James Associate Professor of English The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University certifies that Jennifer Johns Sieck has passed the Final Examination for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy as of March 4, 2010. This is the final and approved form of the dissertation. Mixtheory: Non-Linguistic Communal Expression in African American Literature by Jennifer Johns Sieck Dissertation Research Committee: Jennifer C. James, Associate Professor of English, Dissertation Director Adele Logan Alexander, Associate Professor of History, Committee Member Andrew Zimmerman, Associate Professor of History, Committee Member ii © Copyright 2010 by Jennifer Johns Sieck All rights reserved “quilting” from Quilting: Poems 1987-1990, copyright 1991, by Lucille Clifton, BOA Editions, Ltd., www.boaeditions.org. Used with permission. iii This dissertation is dedicated to the memory of Lauren Virginia Sieck Helen Hawes Johns and Aubrey William Johns Miriam Young Sieck and Luther Salmon Sieck and Dr. Isabel Wood Rogers iv Acknowledgements My late mentor, Dr. Isabel Wood Rogers, liked to talk about her “balcony people.” These were mentors, family members and friends whom she imagined cheering her on from a balcony. I am deeply grateful for balcony people like “Dr. Izzie” who supported me throughout the dissertation process. Foremost among them is my dissertation advisor, Jennifer James, whose openness to ideas offered hospitality for an interdisciplinary project and whose insights, critiques and curiosity shaped its development immeasurably. Our “jenerative” conversations were rewards for submitting chapters for review. Jennifer and my committee members, Adele Logan Alexander and Andrew Zimmerman, each gave me hope that sustained me, shared expertise that enriched my work and challenged me to broaden and deepen my explorations. I also appreciate the comments of my external readers, Gayle Wald and Gail Weiss, who helped me to see my project differently as well as provided additional guidance for its future direction. In many ways, Peter Caws facilitated my dissertation becoming a “co-intentional object,” including through his vision for the Human Sciences Program. I am honored to have had the opportunity to learn from and work with him. The Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies similarly welcomed my dual citizenship of employee and student. A special “staff meeting” toast to Jim Goldgeier, Suzanne Stephenson, Vedrana Hadzialic, Stephen McWilliams, Stephanie Fauver and, in memoriam, Professor Millar. My gratitude also extends to people near and far who contributed toward my dissertation in unexpected and wonderful ways. Though far from a comprehensive list, Vanessa Northington Gamble, Kevin Meehan, Jim Miller, Sally Montague and John v Vlach funneled ideas, books and articles my way along with encouragement. In addition, Elder Joe Hildreth, Laurel Horton and Betty Woodard graciously shared not only their resources, but also their experiences. Union-PSCE facilitated a productive week on campus, where I worked underneath Dr. Izzie’s portrait, recently hung on the balcony in the William Smith Morton Library. Jamie Nathaniel Vermillion of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Southern Folklife Collection assisted me in using the Brett Sutton and Peter Hartman Collection remotely and in contacting Brett Sutton, who amiably granted permission to include recordings from the Collection with my dissertation. Eric Armstead kindly gathered a choir, including Erick Armstead, Gabriel Armstead, Maya Armstead, Mykel Armstead, Ashley Jordan and Leonna Marion, to make Julia Foote’s hymn, “Holy Is the Lamb,” come alive. I benefited, too, from conversations with traveling companions on Amtrak and fellow commuters on the 11Y Metrobus, such as Jean McKendry. Stalwart friends and family walked with me on this journey, buoying my spirits and nourishing me in more material ways—from cards to meals. My classmates, Diana Santillán and Perundevi Srinivasan, generously supplied both the “human” and the “sciences” with friendship as warm and rich as spinach and apple croissants from our favorite study haunt and knowledge that fueled my scholarly imagination. I am thankful for the extended ATS/PSCE community, including Dr. Izzie, B. J. Seymour, Virginia Payne, Marcia Perry, Peggy Witherspoon and Pam and Steve Grace. Likewise, the reach of Hebron’s congregation flowed beyond the Shenandoah Valley; in particular, Nan Brown’s calls and correspondence continued a tradition of caring begun by Virginia Harman. I could hear others rooting for me in the Valley, too, especially Ed and Edna vi Stone; talking with Edna about quilting enhanced my dissertation and helped me complete two quilts. Road trips to Staunton with Miles Townes and Liz Ruedy led to opportunities for lively conversations in the car and beyond. From across the miles, I was cared about, written to, called, listened to and encouraged by Theresa Johnson, Chris Smith, Galadriel Chilton, Gerard Ferrari, Elizabeth McEwan, Tasha Stuart, April Alvarez-Corona, Carmel Tinnes, Richard Adams, Elaine Byrd, and the Weed and Rada families. My VDOT family also kept me moving toward my goal, notably Michelle Earl, Andy Farmer, Jennifer Finstein DeAngelis and Donna Purcell Mayes. Those who championed my cause closer to home include Evelyn Buford, Carolyn Lieberg, Barry Miller and Peter and Nancy Tancredi; and, my Suite 709 colleagues lived up to the alternate spelling of our location, including those aforementioned along with Paul Goldstein, Maryam Sirat and Zohra Sirat. Last, but certainly not least, my family’s support took myriad forms. My grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins cheered me on patiently and persistently. While cousin Ray Johns shared wisdom from having been through this specific experience himself, I also drew on a love of learning modeled for me by generations of Johnses and Siecks. My brother John Philip, his wife Heather and their children Noah, Micah, Kennan and Audrey lent their creativity and good humor along with hugs and high fives. My parents, Philip and Martha Sieck, showed their tireless advocacy in countless ways, from noting newspaper articles to visiting the Virginia Quilt Museum and Cedar Hill with me. I hope that my dissertation reflects the spirit of my “original” balcony people, who have been joined by many more than I can name. vii Dissertation Abstract Mixtheory: Non-Linguistic Communal Expression in African American Literature In this interdisciplinary study, I explore the role of non-linguistic communal expression in African American literature, including how representations of music, dance and quilting shape autobiography, novel and film. I argue that, across eras and genres, African American authors leverage power from forms that are communal, non-linguistic and culturally specific, rather than from language alone. My project breaks new ground by showing that this emphasis displays an operational strategy borne out by neuroscience. Placing the human and natural sciences into dialogue with one another, I demonstrate how non-linguistic forms of African American expression can catalyze action. I conceptualize corresponding notions of African American expression and subjectivity as “mixtery,” an African American technique for combining fragments to generate new meanings. Its theoretical incarnation, mixtheory, can describe the process of creating African American songs, quilts or dances; however, it can also encompass the insertion of African American communal expression into African American literature. In addition, mixtheory provides a way to reconceive African American subjectivity as collaborative, yielding selfhood and community, or plural personhood, in tandem. I illustrate how a mixtery of neurological stimuli and cultural practices contributes toward the emergence of empowerment in texts from the nineteenth through twenty-first centuries. Beginning with Frederick Douglass’s autobiographies (1845, 1855, 1893), I contend that African American communal song motivated Douglass’s eventual escape from enslavement. Further, Julia A. J. Foote’s A Brand Plucked from the Fire: An Autobiographical Sketch (1879) mobilizes music and mixtery to create a singing, rather viii than talking, book. Its hybridity joins the popular nineteenth-century form of the hymnal with that of autobiography, exemplifying communal song as a modality of plural personhood. Almost a century later, Toni Morrison locates quilting as a source of mixtery that can counter trauma in her novel Beloved (1987). Finally, the film Rize (2005) chronicles young African Americans in Los Angeles who develop a form of dance called krumping to tell stories and build community simultaneously. By making visible forms that critique hegemonies of race, gender, class and language, this project establishes the integral importance of African American communal expression within and beyond African American literature. ix Table of Contents Dedication . iv Acknowledgements . v Abstract . viii Introduction