Houston’s 1961 rebrand as ‘Space City, USA’ owes much to Rice University's historic research collaborations with NASA from the early months of the agency’s founding. Because of this partnership, ‘Houston’ will forever be the first human utterance broadcasted from the surface of the moon. Since then, ever-more ‘giant steps’ have been made both in terms of Houston-based STEM research as well as the popular cultural impact of H-Town’s historically unique forms of artistic expression. This seldom acknowledged intersection of critical STEM-based research and the Arts in Black Houston(s) calls attention to several questions: Precisely what forms of social life have Black communities negotiated and redefined, created and maintained in the context of uncertain technological and ecological futures? How do residents establish their sense of place in the city, and in what ways might Black Houstonian cultural productions continue to influence research innovations in ‘H-Town’s’ burgeoning healthcare and cultural industries?
Following the National Science Foundation’s definition, we approach the question of STEM broadly, to include research that spans the social sciences, welcoming research in such fields as sociology, anthropology, psychology and economics. To that end, Dark Matter: STEM & The Arts in Black Houston(s) will bring together researchers, scientists, artists, and scholar-activists at Rice and across metropolitan Houston whose work explores a number of emergent challenges posed by the community’s uncertain technological and environmental futures. Through this symposium, we aim to: (1) produce new knowledges related to Black Houston(s), and publish this information in an edited volume; and, (2) provide a platform for scholarly and community engagement and collaboration.
The committee welcomes individual paper submissions and panel proposals from multiple areas of engagement that include (but are not limited to):
- Scholars in all stages of their careers, including undergraduate and graduate students, and/or from various disciplines such as African American Studies, American Studies, Architecture, Art History, Cultural Studies, Film Studies, History, Medicine, Music History, Psychology, Religious Studies, STEM fields, etc.
- Community artists, intellectuals, journalists, scholars, activists and community organizers
While we are open to a range of topics, we are particularly interested in papers and panels that explore a wide range of issues that include but are not limited to:
- Medical Humanities and Public Health Policies (e.g., Black Births, Abortion Rights, HIV Awareness) in Black/Afro-Diasporic Houston
- Science and Black Cultural Production—Architecture, Art, Dance, Food Culture, Music, Oral Tradition, Writing, Religion, Film, Photography—in Afro-Diasporic Houston
- Methodological Innovation in Afro-Diasporic Houston—ethnographic, participatory, activist, experimental and response-able forms of research.
- Racial Histories and Philosophies of Modern Disciplines (e.g., Sciences, the Social Sciences, and the Humanities)
- Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Approaches to STEAM-Based Education in Black/Afro-Diasporic Houston
- Cosmology, Astronomy and Racial Discourse in “Space City, USA”
- Sustainable and Systemic Changes in terms of Architecture (How has history been able to spark urban and sustainable development)
- Medical Humanities and Public Health (i.e., Abortion Rights, Black Birthing, BioMedical Innovations) in Black/Afro-Diasporic Houston
- Digital Humanities (e.g., Artificial Intelligence and the Arts, Predictive Algorithms and Policing) in Black/Afro-Diasporic Houston
- Oil, Gas and the Environment in Black Houston(s), the “Energy Capital of the World”
The symposium will take place March 27-28, 2025 at the African American History Research Center, Gregory Campus (HPL - AAHRC) and at Rice University, respectively. The conference is free and open to the public, but registration is required to attend.
Submission instructions
Deadline: January 21, 2025
To submit a paper or panel proposal, please fill out the Call for Papers/Panels form at https://blackhoustons.rice.edu/call-papers.
Please submit a 500-word abstract of the paper or panel proposal using the templates below. Please be certain to include title of paper/panel, your name, institution/affiliation, and contact information. If proposing a panel, please list all panelists and affiliations. Please submit abstracts as a PDF.
PAPER Proposal Template | PANEL Proposal Template
Participants will hear back about acceptance to the Symposium by the second week of February, 2025. Please email blackhoustons@rice.edu with questions.
Symposium Publication
Selected papers will be included in the symposium edited volume. Papers selected for inclusion must be original work and not previously published, and the paper cannot be under consideration for publication elsewhere. Graduate students and early career scholars are encouraged to apply.
The symposium is generously supported by:
The Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning (CERCL), Rice University
The Fondren Library, Rice University
The African American History Research Center, Gregory Campus, Houston Public Library
The President's Office, Rice University
Center for African and African American Studies (CAAAS), Rice University
Center for Coastal Futures and Adaptive Resilience (CFAR), Rice University
Department of Art History, Rice University
Questions
Email blackhoustons@rice.edu with questions.
