“There is a project that I’ve had in the back of my mind for several years. Not a solo project, but one that D and I envisioned as collective and that we thought to call “The Dictionary of Untranslatable Blackness.” Our imagined Dictionary was inspired by a read one: the dictionary of Untranslatables: A Philosophical Lexicon, by Barbara Cassin [….]

As we read and skimmed the entries, we observed that many of the definitions could not, or might not stand if the word or concept was thought from Black. That is, not only did blackness not appear among the ‘important philosophical…and political terms’ to be defined or discussed, neither did Black philosophers (no Negritude, Creolité, Fanon, Glissant, Aimé or Suzanne Césaire, no Du Bois, no double consciousness). But many of the entries that did appear would need to be rethought or unthought if one considered blackness and Black people. If one began from Black, what would an entry on civilization, or claim, or archive or memory or life look like? How would it sound?” (Sharpe, 234).

In Note 164 of her book, Ordinary Notes, Christina Sharpe invites readers to consider, along with her, how “philosophical…and political terms” or lexicons are shaped, too frequently, in the absence of consideration of African diasporic contributions to said terms and concepts. She posits that the resulting discourses, which dominate so much of our conversations in any number of fields, would be significantly altered. Specifically, we draw on her acknowledgement, or “regard” for artistic and critical nuances engendered by black life and knowledge to ask, “If one began from Black, what would an entry on" affect, which encompasses the emotional, sensory, and bodily experiences of the members of the African diaspora within several defining historical moments and places, look like? If the goal is to “undiscipline” this term, especially when “affect does not reach us in the same ways” (Sharpe 33), who are the theorists and artists that help in these efforts? What are the languages and/or rhetorical postures of these attempts? Are there particular moments, sounds, or artistic practices that develop black affective knowledge?

For this roundtable, we invite attempts to answer these questions and others to lay some groundwork toward such a project. Interested parties should submit abstracts (250-300 words) describing ideas for their discussion. If chosen, you will be required to prepare a 3–5-page paper that will be circulated prior to the conference. Please include a brief CV and/or biography. Abstracts and/or questions should be emailed to Jenise Hudson (jenise.hudson@famu.edu) and Kajsa Henry (kajsa.henry@famu.edu) by August 20, 2025 with decisions made by September 1, 2025.