Infectious Rhythm: Metaphors of Contagion and the Spread of African Culture

Barbara Browning follows the trail of "infectious rhythm" from the ecstatic percussion of a Brazilian carnival group to the eerily silent video image of the LAPD beating a man like a drum. Throughout, she identifies the metaphoric strain of contagion which both celebrates the diasporic spread of African culture, and serves as the justification for its brutal repression.

The essays in this book examine both the vital and violent ways in which recent associations have been made between the AIDS pandemic and African diasporic cultural practices, including religious worship, music, dance, sculpture, painting, orature, literature and film. While pointing to the lengthy and complex history of the metaphor of African contagion, Browning argues that in its politicized, life-affirming embodiment, the figure might actually teach us to respond to epidemia humanely.

Author: Barbara Browning
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 03/26/1998
Pages: 248
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 9.04h x 6.02w x 0.63d
ISBN: 9780415919814

About the Author

Barbara Browning is Associate Professor of Performance Studies at New York University. She is the author of Samba: Resistance in Motion.