Global Blackness Conference

"Blackness: A Comparative, Cross-National Investigation of Meaning and Significance" This conference will explore the historical emergence of and comparative cross-national analysis of the concept of "blackness". One objective will be to identify the beginnings of modern notions of blackness, the role that the concept has played socially, politically and culturally, how the concept has developed in juxtaposition with the emergence of the idea of whiteness, and what are the ongoing ramifications in a world where notions of multiraciality and transraciality are gaining more and more purchase. In addition to exploring who is and who is not "black", scholars will examine how blackness is more likely to be associated with lower or higher social status in countries that are characterized by black or white "rule", the presence or absence of race-specific diseases among black people including detailed attention to hypertension, and where do black people experience the highest and lowest standards.