Abstract:

Transformation/In Loree s Beauty shop/hot combs sizzled/against/wet oily scalps/branding/grown woman fantasies/into tender young/heads./Thick busy afros/became/long glossy black curls/transforming/natural Black queens/into/commercial mahogany princess. (Boyd, 1997). The politics of black hair is defined as challenges to the traditional ideals of beauty that affect all of us globally. As an example of this, blonde hair and blue eyes are now globally seen as the perfection of beauty. This is evident from an examination of the media arts and entertainment industries. The politics of black hair in media arts education is a dissertation proposal for online media studies, black studies and feminist studies curriculum development designed for postsecondary education. The basis for developing the curriculum will be Donna Kakonge s graduate research on the politics of black hair called Afro Forever (1999), also known as What Happened to the Afro? (2006), done at Concordia University s Communications department back in 1999. The aim of the dissertation and online project is to broaden my scope of research from my master s thesis on the politics of black hair to a wider curriculum framework.

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