Judith Lynne Hanna

Education

She earned a Ph.D. in anthropology from Columbia University, an M.A. in political science from Michigan State University and a B.A. in political science from UCLA. Hanna has been a high school teacher and has taught at numerous universities. She has been a Senior Research Scholar in the Department of Dance and is currently an Affiliate Research Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Maryland, College Park, a consultant, expert court witness, writer and dance critic. Hanna has explored the relationship between dance and society in African villages and cities and American theaters, school playgrounds and classrooms, as well as adult entertainment clubs and their communities. In addition, she has conducted research on African cities, urban studies, and at-risk youth.

Legacy

“The Judith Lynne Hanna Dance Legacy” is held by the Performing Arts Collection of the Michelle Smith Library for the Performing Arts, University of Maryland. The collection includes listings on www.judithhanna.com, more than 300 dance articles by and about Dr. Hanna since 1965, and pamphlets, talks, correspondence, newspaper clippings since the 1840s, photos, videos, tapes, materials from varied organizations.reviews, awards, proposals, monographs, books, interviews from research informants, descriptions of unique courses in the United States and Europe, and articles (some not available in libraries), that she drew upon for her research on dance that is presented in her articles and numerous books. The Collection can be accessed during regular Performing Arts Library hours. Contact: Special Collections in Performing Arts, 301-405-9220 or 301-314-7614. [1].

“Judith Lynne Hanna Collection” (“African Dances: 1963” motion picture film, audio tapes, 35 mm slides and related publications are now Archived at American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, USA). The collection includes about 4,450 feet of 16 mm motion picture film from Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia that the American Folklife Center has digitalized. Because of the limitations of the Bell and Howell 70 DR camera equipment used, the music was recorded separately on quarter inch 7 1/2 half-track audiotape. A Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Historical Archives Grant helped to preserve the original material. Contact: 202-707-1739. www.loc.gov/folklife/

Publications

To her credit are landmark books: "Dancing to Learn: The Brain's Cognition, Emotion, and Movement" (Rowman and Littlefield, 2015), Naked Truth: Strip Clubs, Democracy, and a Christian Right (University of Texas Press, 2012) https://www.utexas.edu/utpress/books/hannak.html, To Dance Is Human: A Theory of Nonverbal Communication (University of Chicago Press), Dance, Sex and Gender: Signs of Identity, Dominance and Desire (University of Chicago Press), The Performer-Audience Connection: Emotion to Metaphor in Dance and Society (University of Texas Press), Partnering Dance and Education (Human Kinetics), Dancing for Health: Conquering and Preventing Stress (AltaMira Press), Disruptive School Behavior: Class, Race, and Culture (Holmes & Meier) and Urban Dynamics in Black Africa, co-author (Aldine).

Hanna has published over 300 articles in scholarly journals in African studies, art anthropology, black studies, dance, drama, education, gender, leisure and recreation, medicine, music, planning, political science, psychology, religion, semiotics, therapy, and urban studies, in addition to about 300 newspaper and magazine articles for the general reader.

See http://www.judithhanna.com for a list of publications, etc. and YouTube account jlhanna36 for dances of the Ubakala Igbo of eastern Nigeria in 1963 and for Kenya's dances at its Independence Celebration in 1963.

In addition, Hanna has lectured at more than 50 colleges and universities and addressed as many association meetings, special conferences, and seminars. She has also been a guest speaker and consultant on a wide range of subjects, and has taught a range of courses at several universities. Trained at UCLA's Graduate School of Education, Hanna earned a California Teaching Credential and was a Los Angeles City School social studies and English teacher. She has studied various forms of dance and has taught dance and about dance in community centers, high schools, and at several universities.