Eighteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

This paper showcases various contemporary incarnations of African American vernacular traditions and living rhetorical artifacts, i.e. the literature and rhetorical forms that are “part of the oral [performative] not primarily the literate…tradition of black expression” (Gates, 2004) which [are] often “in-group and, at times, secretive, defensive, and aggressive”. Some of these works/artifacts –including brick and mortar establishments–like juke/jook joints and hole in the walls are being threatened with extinction, due the changing nature of the economic and social fabric of society, but all of which rest outside of traditional humanities/academic discourse. This study highlights the architects of the movement to honor African American vernacular such as Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Alice Walker, and Henry Louis Gates, and transition to contemporary scholars preserving and studying the traditions. The goal of the paper is to leave attendees with 1) a working, inclusive definition of the vernacular and living cultural rhetorical artifact; 2) historical and contemporary examples of cultural rhetorical artifacts; 3) a demonstration of how these traditions meet the criteria of vernacular and humanities; and 4) strategies for how these traditions can be preserved in a digital age.