Womanism Rising

Womanism Rising can be thought of as the third installment of a three-part series representing the arc of womanist genesis. The first installment, The Womanist Reader (2006), documented the first quarter century of womanist thought and praxis across the disciplines. The second installment, The Womanist Idea (2012), outlined the metaphysical architecture of womanism and highlighted the centrality of spiritual activism in womanist praxis. This volume, Womanism Rising, gestures toward the future by showcasing new work by emerging womanist authors whose perspectives expand the womanist idea and extend womanism to new sites, new problems, and new audiences. The chapters that make up Womanism Rising advance five key ideas: First, that womanist self-care is a lifesaving strategy; second, that healing the earth is a prerequisite to healing ourselves; third, that, through its “politics of invitation,” womanism is a strategy for enlarging humanity’s circle of inclusion; fourth, that womanism is a challenge and antidote to dehumanization; and, fifth, that womanism is a vehicle for constructing worlds and futures. This book also contains, for the first time, work by womanist visual artists. Ultimately, this book demonstrates and affirms that womanist studies is now a bona fide, broadly interdisciplinary academic field in its own right with significant currency inside and outside academia.