Friday, May 2, 2008

10 AM - 5 PM

Information and Technology Building

Baruch College, City University of New York

151, East 25th Street, Newman Conference Center (Room 750)

New York, NY 10010

Admission is free and open to the public.
Please bring a photo ID in order to be admitted into the building.

You are invited to attend 'Contesting Culture: Battling Genres in the African Diaspora', a one-day conference presenting groundbreaking information on African and African-Diasporan martial arts, combat games, musical dueling, and competitive dance. The conference will feature 15 panelists, including renowned scholars Robert Farris Thompson, Ivor Miller, Ken Bilby, and Kyra Gaunt.

Fighting For Honor: The History of
African Martial Art in the Atlantic World

Click here to order your copy of

by T.J. Desch-Obi, Ph.D.

About The Book

Fighting For Honor is a unique examination of the origins and development of African martial disciplines, tracing the history of these art forms in West and Central Africa and their dissemination across the Atlantic world. In writing the most thorough book-length investigation of Africa's fascinating fighting traditions in print, Desch-Obi draws on extensive archival research and fieldwork across three continents to conclusively document the African roots of the Afro-Brazilian martial art capoeira, and closely-related practices including Martiniquan l'adja and African-American knocking and kicking. The book also proposes fascinating new insights into the role of self-defense practices like engolo, mgba, and kalinda in maintaining the honor traditions of generations of enslaved Africans in rural South Carolina, urban Rio de Janiero, and during the stunning success of the Haitian Revolution.

The Author

T. J. Desch Obi received his doctorate in African history from the University of California, Los Angeles. His research focuses on historical ethnography, which he explores through the lens of African and African diaspora martial arts. He is currently an assistant professor of African and African diaspora history at the City University of New York's Baruch College.

Click here to read more.

About PANGA

PANGA, Inc. is a research network and consultancy that investigates the ancient and contemporary cultural heritage of Africa and the African Diaspora. PANGA specializes in documenting and publishing information on authentic martial arts--including combat sports and games, military practices, and other formal dueling--that originate on the African continent and spread throughout the Caribbean, North, Central, and South America. Research specializations also include qualitative ethnography on African popular culture and sustainable development.

PANGA's consultants have worked with a variety of corporate, academic, and institutional clients. Available services include lectures, performances, and custom research reports on cultural entrepreneurship, popular culture, and more. Contact PANGA's director, Olayinka Fadahunsi, by e-mail to learn more about the organization's principals.