Willie Jennings joins Miroslav Volf to discuss the definition of joy as an act of resistance against despair, the counterintuitive nature of cultivating joy in the midst of suffering, the commercialization of joy in Western culture, joy segregated by racism and slavery, how Jesus expands and corrects our understanding of joy. And so the question becomes for me: can there be a form of joy that helps to constitute identity that happens in the in-between, in the gathering of different peoples? Its power seems inescapable. Research shows that small bursts of positive emotion can help reset the bodys physical responses to stress, so that people can continue to fight from a place of wellbeing and strength. by FANTANAMOBAY. If someone puts their hands on you make sure they never put their hands on anybody else again., We live in capitalism. The collective representation of Black people in the industry is abysmal, as evidenced by multicultural children's publisher Lee & Low's baseline survey. You have to have conditions set up where those people who have learned how to ride the winds of chaos can say to you, "Come on, let me show you how to do that." They resist being changed., Most of us have two lives. Mr. Lincoln also signed the Homestead Act that offered 100 acres of land for families who had the courage to settle the frontier and farm the . When thinking about how you can celebrate African American History month this month and throughout the year, remember that poet Toi Derricotte said, "Joy is an act of resistance." You'll also receive periodic updates on new things from The Aesthetics of Joy. Ethologists have observed chimpanzees celebrating the arrival of a caretaker delivering a bunch of blackberry vines, a favored food, to their enclosure. Joy is an Act of Resistance Arts Corps Breaks Down Barriers in Arts Education By Carolyn Coons Arts Corps teaching artists work with students during the 2018 Arts Liberation and Leadership Institute (ALLI). You have to have people who have been able to make you laugh in the places where all you want to do is cry. (44.15) All of the Handmaids at this posting (Glen's) are called Ofglen (of Glen). But the most celebratory of all animals are our closest relatives, the chimpanzees. They smooth tensions and break down barriers. 4. It cannot., Humanism is the only - I would go so far as saying the final- resistance we have against the inhuman practices and injustices that disfigure human history., People don't resist change. How in the world is anyone to eek out an ounce of hope to press on? But there's also another side, not only to just African diaspora forms of joy, but the joy in many communities. But in context where that isn't fully, hasn't fully taken hold, the people's work of creating joy is there. She abruptly ended their interview . How would you put it? Thanks so much for your thoughtful feedback. Thank you, Martha. "Go find your joy. People who refuse to come to earth. One of my favorite examples of this is a project called Trash: Any Color You Like, which placed vibrant, polka-dotted trash bags around the streets of New York City. You talked about certain geographies of joy, the spaces which are configured in particular way. Communal joy provides a kind of glue that unifies a group. Other soldiers wrote home requesting flower seeds to plant. It is mind-boggling to them that Black people can still find peace. My pleasure. They rolled the windows down, and turned the music all the way up to play one of Dariuss favorite songs. "Find ecstasy in life: the mere sense of living is joy enough." Emily Dickinson 2. You've come into a space that is not your own, and in some ways that space has claimed you as its own. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Rewind. We cannot simply say we ought to have a joy that we have it together, but no one wants to think about where are our bodies in space, and how was spaces configured. Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies, Yale Divinity School, Founder & Director, Yale Center for Faith & Culture, Defining joyan act of resistance against despair, "Resisting all the ways in which life can be strangled and presented to us as not worth living", Making productive use of pain, suffering, and the absurdtaking them serious. What was she doing? Play. It could not have lasted for any more than two minutes. From the likes of Ari Up and Poly Styrene, who didnt sing about obtaining male affection or rely on stereotypical concepts of female self-worth, to outrageously hyper-sexualized women like Wendy O. Williams and Marian Anderson, who recaptured ownership of their bodies, these women were bold, outspoken, and as the kids say nowadays, woke. Studies show, for example, that feeling joyful can mitigate something called the own-race face bias, where people tend to recognize differences in faces of their own race while failing to distinguish faces of other races from one another. What does a life of healing, flourishing, and joy even look like for communities that are constantly riddled with deeply traumatic pain? We are planning a team day at work, and youve given me lots to think about, and a framework for justifying some fun activities. "Yes. And those who are doing the speaking, never imagining that this in fact would be the sign. Growing up in the 90s, they were really my first exposure to feminism (lite) with the idea of Girl Power and that women could do anything despite what others thought or expected. We're grateful that you're listening. Wa-ching! Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya's portraits in Times Square celebrating the expansive diversity and individuality of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in New York City as part of the public art series We Are More. "The path of least resistance is what makes rivers run crooked." - Elbert Hubbard. Joy Is a Beautiful Act of Resistance. It makes me feel good to give back, not saying no every time. ("Joy of the Sabbath") and founded by historian Emanuel Ringelblum (1900-44). Miroslav Volf: You've spoken about kind of segregated joy, joy that's part of a particular identity inherited, forged in adversity, and in your particular case, as a legacy of slavery. And I think at another level, the work of joy becomes serious work, which I think in our contextand by our context, I mean in the Westthe work of joy in many ways is not fully the people's work. But whats most remarkable is what happens after these festivities. Now I do want to take seriously the way in which a community finds joy and creates joy and creates patterns of pleasure that are imagined to only exist in integrity when the outside others are kept out. Its one thing to be able to envision a better future, but its another to have a momentary flash of it course through our bodies. New Submission. "You were not just born to center your entire existence on work and labor. So, simply put, joy can be considered resistance because its a form of energy for change, as Lorde puts it. This episode featured theologians, Willie Jennings and Miroslav Volf. Professor Jennings, it's great to have you with us. There is a joy that draws peoples together rather than a joy that's built within segregated spaces. Fernando Pessoa I believe in the magic and authority of words.. Between the two stands Resistance.. And I do think that deciding to have joy is an act of resistance. It is a part of the empire of advertisement that they do the work, the creative work, of presenting to you what is joyful and what can become part of the reality of how you create enjoyment and pleasure. Your joy is an act of resistance. Societal change always involves a lot of pain as those with privilege and power often refuse to listen or take responsibility for the suffering theyve caused. And because of that, we probably have to press more deeply when we start to talk about the integrity of a Christian vision of joy until we understand that dynamic. Above all, the new album posits "joy as an act of defiance," Bono said. Hallelujah. $22. There can be complaint, but you're spending a lot of energy just trying to hold it together. Unsubscribe at any time. Folk or traditional music is typically condemned, such as in Nazi Germany, which targeted Jewish music. I do say you can go back upstairs and get another ticket, but I also give them all the food thats left at the end! And so we must risk delight. And we must know that to do so is not a distraction from resistance, but one of its greatest sources of power. Weve seen how joy restores, unifies, and propels. It reminds the teachers and students that they are fully human, fully worthy and deserving of a full and beautiful life. Maybe they didn't intend it, but it did. PTKF2158-5. Is joy actually a form of resistance to oppression, or is this phrase just a comforting balm to counter the guilt we feel when we find ourselves feeling good in a world thats burning? What's killing your joy? Every single person let the healing waves of music wash over them with their soulful and buoyant caress, and just danced their hearts out right where they stood. Stop. Celebratory joy creates unity on an emotional and a physical level, and a unified populace is harder to dominate. I am not suggesting here that joy will always be present in times of mourning. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. 20 of the best book quotes from The Path of Least Resistance. - C.S. Hi Ingrid, I am a musician and Ive been creating music and performances that bring joy and also have an activist/educational component. Miroslav Volf: So if I hear you correctly, there's something right and good about a kind of particularity of joy for an individual, particularity of joy of a family, particularity of joy of a cultural group. Willie Jennings: Well, practically you have to have people who you've heard sing those songs in strange lands. It's the idea that in order to be a good woman, you have to be self-sacrificing. In 2017, they formed the Resistance Revival Chorus, a collective of women and non-binary singers whose central tenet is that joy is an act of resistance. Check out our joy act resistance selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops. The separation of the races geographically speaking, and not simply socially speaking. takes aim at everything from toxic masculinity, nationalism, immigration, and class inequality - all while maintaining a visceral, infectious positivity. I will read it again with an open mind and see if its just my over sensitivity to political messages and political leanings when Im looking for neutrality and joy for all. There is that space. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. If all control boils fundamentally to force, how can one resist aggression without equal force? We've been taught that silence would . I think that's the first thing you have to have. These experiences of synchrony create a physiological experience of community, one that can be profoundly unconscious. When you think about why everyone should celebrate Black History month and why rewriting history to exclude the African American's place in it is so perfidious, its founder said it best, "If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated." Miroslav Volf: Yeah. And if you're not, please continue listening and engaging the content. Evan Rosa: This is For the Life of the World, a podcast about seeking and living a life worthy of our humanity. } Update on December 22, 2015 by Pastor Jack Wellman. Lewis famously wrote in his autobiography, Surprised By Joy, "All joy reminds it is never a possession, always a desire for something longer ago or further away, or still about to be." It's a parade of my Grandfather's wit, it is all the shit haircuts I've ever had. So for today, Sojourner Truth is my inspiration. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email. Support For the Life of the World by making a gift to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: faith.yale.edu/give. Miroslav Volf: So if you have a kind of cultural logic that sets patterns for expressions of joy, but it ends up being segregated joy, how do you break open out of the enclosure? Maya Angelou and Rosa Parks. (646) 846-3896 | admin@nycafp.org. Eugene H. Peterson We are two abysses - a well staring at the sky. We rely on the generosity of individuals like you to make our work possible. Slowly but surely shes changing the lives of those she directly works with, while also helping to create legislation that ultimately will transform Colombias society into a somewhat more just and inclusive place. Without that belief, theres no point in fighting. Following the success of their debut album Brutalism, the band started recording new material for their next album. At one level, it is tied to real spaces and places. "Secondary choices are always subordinate to a primary choice. Joy is also a manifestation of abundance. Now Black History month is celebrated all over the globe. But strong and destructive, too. And something else, I think to myself. - Psalm 30:5. Somehow, by some great miracle, we followed his mothers lead, and it just happened. The album was a huge critical & commercial success, peaking in the UK Albums Chart at No. "For Black folks, joy and resistance aren't really that separate," Waheed tells me over Zoom. Joy as an Act of Resistance., an Album by Idles. At that moment, I witnessed the joy of a community that, even in mourning, knew that it had access to one of the most powerful tools of resistance to a system of state sponsored violence and oppression that seeks to crush the joyful spirits of vibrant communities like these. I remember people handing flyers to the guy I was with and not to me as if I werent autonomous, or men saying things to me like, youve got a really good record collection for a girl. As I became more aware, I found myself influenced by girls and women who were challenging the existing power structure of rock n roll. As I began to slip in the depths of my own sorrow and yield to the temptation to surrender my heart to the dreadfully stark nihilism in this ritual around black bodies, I looked up and saw Dariuss mother, Rishawna Myricks. If one is forever cautious, can one remain a human being?, Resistance is always lying and always full of shit., We are like water, arent we? You were born to heal, to grow, to be of service to yourself and community, to practice, to experiment, to create, to have space, to dream, and to connect.". Its a curious feature of autocratic regimes that forms of joy are often banned. //]]>. Hallie Brignall, Annual Fund Manager Rated #20 in the best albums of 2018, and #2063 of all time album.. The whole idea of oppression is to keep people down. 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