Dr. Shadow Fannie Sosa
Booty to the Beat:  Sacral Dances, Social Unrest, and Postural Control in the Black Atlantic
Seminar, English, 2 SWS, 2 ECTS
Fridays 16-19 h and Saturdays 15-19 h, 8 sessions: May 23/24, May 30/31, June 6/7, and June 13/14 in Hardenbergstr. 33, room 102 (24.5. & 6.6. in room 004)
Note: some Saturday sessions may take place in TU main building room H4001, Strasse des 17. Juni

Registration on Moodle starts on 14.4.2025: https://moodle.udk-berlin.de/moodle/course/view.php?id=2646
Enrollment Key: beat

This summer semester, our cultural studies course will delve into the concept of the "tipping point" through an examination of sacral dances as pleasurable technologies, epistemologies, and methodologies of liberation within the Black Atlantic. Focusing on twerk, dutty wine, and rebolado, we will explore how these sacral dances emerge as critical and often controversial moments of cultural significance, functioning as scandalous yet transformative modalities of social and postural mobility.
Our inquiry will also trace the afrodiasporic initiatory roots of these dances in Rio de Janeiro, Kingston, and New Orleans, uncovering their role as forms of re/productive insurrection, knowledge transmission, and community-building. By analyzing their historical and contemporary contexts, we will investigate how sacral dances have sparked social and political transformations in the Black Atlantic and beyond, generating global waves of influence that transcend geographic and cultural boundaries.

Fulfilment criteria for ungraded accreditation: Active participation in class discussions, short essay, somatic engagement (with focus on participation, not technical ability), one collaborative project.

Shadow F. Sosa is a PhD graduate in Social Epistemology and Dance Anthropology from Lille III University, specializing in sacral dances, Black Atlantic social movements, and pleasure activism. Sosa’s interdisciplinary practice integrates performance art, somatic techniques, and scholarly inquiry to challenge colonial epistemologies and explore liberatory methodologies. Their doctoral research, *When We Twerk, We Torque*, investigates sacral dances as tools of freedom and knowledge in the Black Atlantic. An internationally acclaimed artist, Sosa’s works have been exhibited at leading institutions like the Tate Modern, MoMA, and the Centre Pompidou. They are also a seasoned educator, having conducted masterclasses and workshops at prestigious universities such as Yale, NYU, and Berlin’s UdK. Dedicated to innovative and collaborative teaching, Sosa’s methods bridge theory and practice to empower diverse communities through movement and critical thought.