English Prof discusses Joey Ramone, rise of 'othered' body culture in America

Dr. Jessica Williams of the English Department presented her work "Gabba Gabba Hey: Joey Ramone, One of Us" at the Southwest Popular and American Culture Association Virtual Summer Salon.

Her talk traced the presentation of "Othered" bodies (and its intersections with disability, freakishness, and subcultural subversion) from the American freak show, to Tod Browning's 1932 horror film "Freaks," to the emergence of the Ramones in the 1970's and the punk subculture that Joey Ramone, in particular, spearheaded.

The mission of the Southwest Popular/American Culture Association is to promote an innovative and nontraditional academic movement in the humanities and social sciences celebrating America's cultural heritages, and to increase awareness and improve public perceptions of America's cultural traditions and diverse populations.

The organization works toward its mission by providing a professional network for scholars, writers, and others interested in popular/American culture via our annual academic conference and through our open-source, peer-reviewed academic journal, "Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy." Additionally, the SWPACA has a long-standing commitment to supporting the development of new and young academic professionals in the fields of popular and/or American cultural studies through conference travel grants, paper awards, and professional development opportunities.