American Book Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 40 (2019) Winner
Halifu Osumare
ハリフ・オスマレ
Halifu Osumare
Aliases:
Janis Miller
Pen Names:
Halifu Osumare（Name given by playwright Ntozake Shange while in Oakland）
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1946-11-27 （Galveston, Texas, U.S.）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Galveston (birthplace) → Oakland, California → New York, NY → Boston, MA → University of California, Davis (employment) → Various European cities (Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, etc.)
Career
- Occupations
- author, educator, dancer, choreographer, cultural activist, scholar
- Active Years
- 1965-2024
- Affiliations
- University of California, Davis (Professor Emerita), Stanford University (collaborations, residencies)
- Influenced By
- Katherine Dunham, Ntozake Shange
- Influenced
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco State University | — | Dance Ethnology | M.A. | — | United States |
| University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa | — | American Studies | Ph.D. | — | United States |
San Francisco State University
Dance Ethnology
Degree:
M.A.
Country:
United States
Involved with the Black Arts Movement during study
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
American Studies
Degree:
Ph.D.
Country:
United States
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | American Book Award | Dancing in Blackness: A Memoir | — | Before Columbus Foundation | 受賞 |
| 2019 | Selma Jeanne Cohen Prize in Dance Aesthetics | Dancing in Blackness: A Memoir | — | American Society for Aesthetics | 受賞 |
| 2021 | Edward A. Dickson Emeriti Professorship Award | — | — | University of California | 受賞 |
| 2020 | Distinction in Dance Award | — | — | Dance Studies Association | 受賞 |
| 2008 | Fulbright Fellowship | Lecturer-researcher at University of Ghana, Legon | — | Fulbright | 受賞 |
| 2018 | Scholars Award | — | — | International Association of Blacks in Dance | 受賞 |
| 2016 | Harry Shaw Award | — | — | Popular Culture Association (African American Culture Area) | 受賞 |
American Book Award
2019
Work:
Dancing in Blackness: A Memoir
Organization:
Before Columbus Foundation
Result:
受賞
Selma Jeanne Cohen Prize in Dance Aesthetics
2019
Work:
Dancing in Blackness: A Memoir
Organization:
American Society for Aesthetics
Result:
受賞
Edward A. Dickson Emeriti Professorship Award
2021
Organization:
University of California
Result:
受賞
Distinction in Dance Award
2020
Organization:
Dance Studies Association
Result:
受賞
Fulbright Fellowship
2008
Work:
Lecturer-researcher at University of Ghana, Legon
Organization:
Fulbright
Result:
受賞
Scholars Award
2018
Organization:
International Association of Blacks in Dance
Result:
受賞
Harry Shaw Award
2016
Organization:
Popular Culture Association (African American Culture Area)
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Hiplife in Ghana: West African Indigenization of Hip-Hop
2012 scholarly work / music and cultural studiesA study of how Ghanaian hiplife indigenizes hip-hop, examining musical, dance, and cultural processes of localization and their broader social impact.
indigenizationmusic and identityglobalization
The Africanist Aesthetic in Global Hip-Hop: Power Moves
2007 scholarly work / cultural studiesDiscusses hip-hop as a global cultural form and introduces concepts such as connective marginalities through international case studies.
globalizationAfricanist aestheticcross-cultural comparison
Dancing in Blackness: A Memoir
2018 memoir / autobiographyA memoir recounting over four decades of career in dance, performance, education, and international cultural research.
self-reflectiondance and politicsBlack cultural expression
Dancing the Afrofuture: Hula, Hip-Hop and the Dunham Legacy
2024 memoir / dance cultural studiesContinues her narrative from the 1990s onward, exploring Afrofuturism in dance and the legacy of Katherine Dunham.
AfrofuturismDunham techniquetradition and innovation
Bibliography
- The Hiplife in Ghana: West African Indigenization of Hip-Hop (2012)
- The Africanist Aesthetic in Global Hip-Hop: Power Moves (2007)
- Dancing in Blackness: A Memoir (2018)
- Dancing the Afrofuture: Hula, Hip-Hop and the Dunham Legacy (2024)
Adaptations
- Stage choreography (collaborations on works such as For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf)
- Choreography for American Conservatory Theater productions (Miss Evers' Boys, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Pecong, etc.)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- scholarly and analyticalreflective, conversational memoir tonecombines field knowledge of dance with theoretical analysis
- Recurring Motifs
- Africanist aestheticresistance and expression through the body/dancecultural mobility and localization
Legacy
A pioneer in global hip-hop studies and Black dance scholarship, she has advanced visibility of Black aesthetics through education, choreography, and cultural activism.
Academic Societies
- Dance Studies Association
- International Association of Blacks in Dance
- African American Studies-related organizations
Archives
- Halifu Osumare papers (California Digital Library)
In Popular Culture
- Popularized understandings of the relationship between hip-hop and African diasporic cultures through global hip-hop scholarship
Quotes
-
Dance is life.
Source: Headline from SF State News
Trivia
- Born Janis Miller.
- Received the name Halifu Osumare from Ntozake Shange.
- Protégé of Katherine Dunham and a certified instructor of Dunham Dance Technique.