Bone-Deep Engagement: Black Methodological Intonations and Ethical Response-Making to Black Living

Abstract

What constitutes an ethical analytical response to Black living? This manuscript thinks with theories of Blackness to explicate how the question of the human, specifically, what it means to be human, interrupts traditional methodological discourse, and requires a critical form of labor to account for the breadth and depth of Black liveliness and living. Diverging from traditional distance-oriented research practices, the author puts forth “Black methodological intonations” as methodological praxes. Unlike conventional methods that prioritize detachment, this manuscript advocates for a transformative attunement that actively engages with and alongside Black liveliness. Grounded in the embodied and relational concept of hapticity, the manuscript outlines the theoretical framework of Black methodological intonations, emphasizing the necessity of transcending mere spectatorship in research on Black life. In conversation with Arthur Jafa’s film, “Love is the Message, the Message is Death” (2016), the manuscript employs haptic reflexivity to consider profound listening, viewing, and feeling experiences in connection with the Black quotidian. Jafa’s film serves as a compelling example of reshaping the white gaze’s racialized power dynamics. The analysis of the film through the lens of hapticity yields valuable insights, culminating in essential considerations for Black methodological intonations as methodological response-making. Key themes include attunement, impressions, slowness, and emanation, contributing to a nuanced understanding of methodological practices that engage with the precarity of Black liveliness and living.