Joy, with Akwugo Emejulu

Listen to this episode from Uncommon Sense on Spotify. What comes to mind when you think about joy? And can there be joy in protest and refusal? Someone who’s been asking and trying to answer questions about this is Akwugo Emejulu. She’s been investigating the relationship between Black feminist joy, ambivalence and futures, asking how Black feminists are remixing political media, meanings and messages to co-create manifestos for change. Akwugo has also been mapping the grassroots organising and activism of women of colour for more than 15 years, and in this episode shares her insights about the role of joy and other emotions in understanding society and social change. Plus: Akwugo introduces us to the work of bell hooks, including her take on Beyoncé’s album “Lemonade”, and gives her pop culture recommendation for some Japanese anime, much to Alexis’ delight!Guest: Akwugo EmejuluHosts: Rosie Hancock, Alexis Hieu TruongExecutive Producer: Alice BlochGuest Producer: Chris GarringtonSound Engineer: David CracklesMusic: Joe GardnerArtwork: Erin AnikerFind more about Uncommon SenseEpisode ResourcesRosie, Alexis and Akwugo recommendedThe works of psychologist Rollo May and poet Toi DerricotteThe anime TV series Orb: On the Movements of the Earth and Fullmetal Alchemist: BrotherhoodBy Akwugo EmejuluFugitive FeminismTo Exist is to Resist: Black Feminism in Europe (co-edited with Francesca Sobande)Minority Women and Austerity: Survival and Resistance in France and Britain (co-authored with Leah Bassel)The Black Feminism Remix Lab: on Black feminist joy, ambivalence and futures (co-authored with Francesca Sobande) Refusing politics as usual: mapping women of colour’s radical praxis in London and Amsterdam (co-authored with Inez van der Scheer)The politics of exhaustion (co-authored with Leah Bassel)From The Sociological ReviewThe lonely activist: On being haunted – Akwugo Emejulu, Leah BasselDissonant intimacies: Coloniality and the failures of South–South collaboration – Srila RoyFurther resources“Feminist Theory: From Margin To Center” – bell hooks“Feeling Race: Theorizing the Racial Economy of Emotions” – Eduardo Bonilla-Silva“The (Un)Managed Heart: Racial Contours of Emotion Work in Gendered Occupations” – Adia Harvey Wingfield“Emotion Work, Feeling Rules, and Social Structure” – Arlie Russell HochschildSupport our work. Make a one-off or regular donation to help fund future episodes of Uncommon Sense: donorbox.org/uncommon-sense