Karma Frierson, assistant professor of African and African-American studies; Paige McGinley, associate professor of performing arts and director of American culture studies; and Miguel Valerio, assistant professor of Spanish, lead this effort to bring together students and faculty with St. Louis-based artists and institutions who share an investment in Black performance, a critical site of Black joy as a practice. The collaborative will draw on a wide array of fields to wed scholastic inquiry with exercises in producing and celebrating joy, create knowledge about Black joy, and spread awareness about where Black joy is already being produced both on campus and in the broader St. Louis region.

About Future Fridays: The Graduate Center is partnering with the Arts & Sciences Incubator for Transdisciplinary Futures initiative to host informal lunches where graduate students can connect with faculty leading the initiatives. First Friday Futures will be held on Fridays at noon throughout the spring 2023 and fall 2023 semesters and will be an informal way for faculty teams to speak briefly about their work, and for students to engage in questions and conversation. Full descriptions of each research and teaching cluster and registration forms can be found in the Upcoming Events Section.