Teaching Black Girlhood Studies with Black Motherhood Studies

An Autoethnography

in Girlhood Studies
Author:
Renata Ferdinand NYC College of Technology, USA rferdinand@citytech.cuny.edu

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https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4557-0579
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3167/ghs.2022.150306
Keywords:
Black feminist; daughters; novels; poems; reading; invisibility; writers
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Abstract

What is the relationship between Black Girlhood Studies and Black Motherhood Studies? In this article I answer this question by considering the ways in which these subjects can be explored together or in relation to each other. Using autoethnography, I describe the process of teaching Black Girlhood Studies with Black Motherhood Studies. Specifically, through narrative and performative writing, I draw upon my own personal experience of using research and scholarship associated with Black Girlhood Studies to inform and provide a foundation for the exploration of Black Motherhood Studies in an effort to promote a fuller, more complete and nuanced understanding of both social positions.

Contributor Notes

Renata Ferdinand (ORCID: 0000-0003-4557-0579) is Professor and Chair of the Department of African American Studies at NYC College of Technology in Brooklyn, NY. She writes autoethnographies that explore the complexities of the lived experiences of Black women and girls, from how race and gender impact experiences within the healthcare system to colorism and racial prejudices. Her work is featured in several outlets, including Cultural Studies + Critical Methodologies (2022; 2018), Journal of Health Psychology (2016), and The Popular Culture Studies Journal (2015), to name a few. Her book, An Autoethnography of African American Motherhood: Things I Tell My Daughter appeared in 2021). Email: rferdinand@citytech.cuny.edu

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Girlhood Studies

An Interdisciplinary Journal

Cover Girlhood Studies
Article Category:
Research Article
Page Count:
15
Keywords:
Black feminist; daughters; novels; poems; reading; invisibility; writers
Print Publication Date:
01 Dec 2022
Online Publication Date:
01 Dec 2022
Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022

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