Amy Jordan

Amy Jordan is an Associate Professor of African American Studies at Hampshire College, specializing in the history of welfare rights activism, labor struggles, and diasporic cultural expressions. Her work bridges academic research with embodied practices, particularly through West African dance studies.

• Focus on Mississippi's rural relief and welfare rights movements
• Interdisciplinary integration of dance, history, and social justice
• Contributions to oral histories of marginalized communities

Her research interests include African American history, performance studies, postcolonial frameworks, and the intersection of race and class in U.S. history.

Recent publications include an essay on Head Start's legacy in the War on Poverty & Struggles for Racial and Economic Justice anthology. Her courses explore topics ranging from Black Power movements to Cuba's revolutionary identity.

Amy Jordan conducts West African dance workshops with New Haven-based companies and incorporates embodied knowledge into her analysis of cultural history. She also contributes to transdisciplinary arts research and archival projects at Smith College.