"Why Rent A Negro when Black People Love Us?: The Ethics of Racial Satire on the Internet"

a workshop with

Brandi Wilkins Catanese

Monday, November 7, 2005
Terrace Room, Margaret Jacks Hall, 4:00-6:00 PM

Respondent: Ju Yon Kim Graduate Student, Modern Thought and Literature Stanford University

Reading: Selections from How to Rent a Negro by damali ayo

Abstract: The recent publication of conceptual artist damali ayo's book, How to Rent a Negro has garnered significant publicity, but ayo actually began her rental project with the creation of the satirical web-art-commerce site www.rent-a-negro.com in 2003. When taken together, ayo's website and others, such as Chelsea and Jonah Peretti's www.blackpeopleloveus.com, offer valuable opportunities to investigate the production of racial identity and awareness online. Professor Catanese's workshop addresses the meaning of race and the efficacy of satire in online communication. A short presentation will be followed by a roundtable discussion of the websites and the issues surrounding the function of race in cyberspace.

Brandi Wilkins Catanese, assistant professor in the departments of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies and African American Studies at UC Berkeley, received her Ph.D. from Stanford University's Drama Department. Professor Catanese's work has appeared in The Journal of American Drama and Theater and The Black Scholar, and she is currently working on a book examining the impact of colorblind casting practices on the production of black identity within popular culture. Professor Catanese teaches courses on African American dramatic literature, multicultural performance, and African American culture.

Ju Yon Kim is a 3rd year Doctoral Candidate in the Program for Modern Thought and Literature at Stanford University where she works on performance and race theory, ethnic studies, Asian American literature, theater, and film.