Twenty-Third International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

The Pacific Coast region of the United States defines much of its identity in the public imagination through the sport and cultural formations of surfing. This identity has been almost exclusively associated with white men as the accepted standard bearers of surfing’s evolution and excellence. This narrative runs parallel to the larger political and social discourses of whiteness and racialized exclusion in American society, and throughout the global, colonial settler project. “Decolonize The Surf- The Ocean as Contested Space in Surf Culture,” explores the history of racism and representation in the formation the sport of surfing, presenting research interrogating white supremacy and illuminating surf culture’s complicity in perpetuating the legacies of racism, exclusion and hegemony, while pointing toward contemporary efforts to expand diversity, equity, agency, and inclusion in all aspects of surf culture. Decolonize The Surf utilizes popular forms of digital media technologies to break down barriers of access to forums of scholarly communication embedded and interwoven throughout the project. In conjunction with the overall content structure and style, designed to engage and educate the viewing public, these strategies create greater access to the research embedded and interwoven throughout. Decolonize The Surf challenges conventional creative and scholarly research modes, standing as a multivalent synthesis of scholarship, research and embodied experience as a contemporary expression of academic and public-facing knowledge production. Decolonize The Surf presents an exciting opportunity to expand definitions of performance practices and pedagogies, enhancing discoverability, outreach, access, and the dynamics of learning and experience.