Faith, Family, and Flag: Branson Entertainment and the Idea of America (pre-order here)
Faith, Family, and Flag: Branson Entertainment and the Idea of America is a history of the Branson, Missouri entertainment industry set in the context of America’s culture wars. Over the past one hundred years, the Ozark Mountain town has become a mecca of live performance that offers its visitors the opportunity to see variety shows, country music shows, Elvis tribute shows, Bible-based musicals, and other offerings. But as the book details, Branson offers more than lighthearted entertainment. It sells audiences a vision of the American Dream rooted in three principles: Faith, Family, and Flag. While town boosters proclaim that these principles are universal and neutral, the “Three F’s” have also become associated with political conservatism, thereby placing the tourist destination into the crosshairs of the nation’s culture wars. Branson thus inspires polarizing views: some consider it “God’s Country,” and others, “as close to Hell as anything on Earth.” Rather than adopt either of these positions, author Joanna Dee Das, a trained historian and former professional dancer, approaches the city with a serious consideration of the role that its entertainment industry has played in America’s cultural and political landscape.
Katherine Dunham: Dance and the African Diaspora (order here)
-Winner of 2018 de la Torre Bueno First Book Prize from Dance Studies Association
-Winner of 2019 Honorable Mention Errol Hill Award for outstanding scholarship on African American theater and performance from the American Society for Theatre Research
Praise for Katherine Dunham: Dance and the African Diaspora
"Joanna Dee Das brilliantly congeals historiography and dance studies, giving us a proving inquiry of new diaspora perspectives on Katherine Dunham as one of the most complex world dance figures of the 20th century. Das' meticulous archival research reveals longed-for details about Dunham's awareness of her Africanist aesthetic in dance and her constant fight against racism - what Das astutely calls her politics of diaspora." -- Halifu Osumare, Professor Emerita, University of California, Davis and former co-director, Institute for Dunham Technique Certification
"The first scholar to fully plumb the archive, Joanna Dee Das offers an incisive portrait of Dunham as artist and activist whose multifaceted career profoundly shaped understandings of the African diaspora in her time - and in ours." -- Susan Manning, Professor of English, Theatre, and Performance Studies, Northwestern University.
“Joanna Dee Das’ Katherine Dunham: Dance and the African Diaspora reconfigures Dunham’s acknowledged legacy to include her intellectual, aesthetic and activist contributions within the sweep of African diaspora history….Importantly, the intersection of biography, performance, and historiography surfaces Dunham’s deep and persistent commitment to the struggle for racial equality and social justice grounded in what Das calls a “politics of diaspora”….The many contradictions in Dunham’s work and life are insightfully juxtaposed, shedding light on the complex forces affecting Dunham’s artistic and personal choices. The integration of vivid oral histories, embodied research, and beautiful writing make this book a page-turner, a highly readable account that places dance at the centre of Dunham’s interdisciplinary reach and significance.”— de la Torre Bueno Award Committee