Associate Prof. of English Mark Broomfield
Department of English News
News article created by the Department of English.
Associate Professor of English Mark Broomfield’s book Black Queer Dance: Gay Men and the Politics of Passing for Almost Straight is now available in paperback from Routledge in its Theatre and Performance Studies Series here as of April 22. Broomfield’s book has been nominated for the Frederic W. Ness Book Award. His featured interviews on podcasts include Why Dance Matters Podcast by the Royal Academy of Dance, Our Black Gay Diaspora Podcast with Erick Taylor Woodby, and 40 Plus: Gay Men. Gay Talk with Rick Clemons.
Since the hard cover release of Black Queer Dance, Broomfield has toured across the United States giving book talks and performances at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Coral Gables Museum in collaboration with Florida International University, The Bureau of General Services at The Center, Middlebury College, the University of Rochester and the Cavanaugh Reading Series at St. John Fisher University.
In his talk “How You Movin’ (Through the World)“ Broomfield examines how his book, centering the experience of black gay and queer men in dance, illuminates our individual and collective relationship to freedom of movement, freedom of expression, and sexual freedom, which are all under attack in our contemporary culture, and what it says about how we all move through the world.
Audiences have shared reactions such as “Phenomenal talk,” “Beautiful and illuminating,” “Thought-provoking,” “I tell you that it was one of the best lectures that I’ve seen in a very long time. Smart, performative, fab! Thank you. I can’t wait to have your book on my shelf,” “I think actually everything that was said made me consider my own experiences in the world,” and “I learned a lot and took a lot of notes,” “I really appreciate how it was explained how/why the themes discussed have relevance to every person in the room.”
With vivid stories, ethnography, memoir, poetry and embodied history, Black Queer Dance couldn’t be clearer about the importance of examining masculinity and its intersection with race and gender through the lens of dance, what it shows us about the dangers facing black LGBTQ men navigating the world, and ultimately how they offer an expansive vision of masculinity.
In Black Queer Dance, readers will find an exploration of topics about race, gender and sexuality in dance and its relevance to current discussions about the crisis of masculinity in our wider culture including gender performance and strategic passing, expansive masculinity, and freedom of movement and impacts of anti-LGBTQ violence.
Readers will learn how crucial black gay and queer men are to understanding gender, how we move, the ways in which we move, and their significant role in reimagining masculinities.
To invite the author for a book talk, including lecture and performance, please contact: broomfield@geneseo.edu.