Date of Award

Spring 6-7-2018

Document Type

Honors Project

University Scholars Director

Christine Chaney

First Advisor/Committee Member

Yelena Bailey

Second Advisor/Committee Member

Christine Chaney

Keywords

Beyonce, Cultural Studies, black feminist theory

Abstract

In this paper I argue that Beyoncé’s visual album, Lemonade, functions as a textual hybrid between poetry, surrealist aesthetics and popular culture—challenging the accepted understanding of cultural production within academia. Furthermore, Lemonade centers black life while presenting mainstream audiences with poetry and avant-garde imagery that challenge dominant views of black womanhood. Using theorists bell hooks, Stuart Hall, Patricia Hill-Collins and Audre Lorde, among others, I argue that Beyoncé’s work challenges the understanding of artistic production while simultaneously fitting within a long tradition of black feminist cultural production.

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