UCLA

“Dissident Vibrations” builds on existing literature within the Black Radical Tradition, Chicana feminisms, and Sound Studies to propose that Chicanas have developed methods of musical political dissidence that, while varied in their style, delivery, and scale of impact, are woven together through a shared radical political imaginary. This imaginary resists containment by national borders, racial divides, or gendered conscriptions, and advances visions of transformative, intersectional liberation. This work expands upon Deborah Vargas's concept of dissonance—an aberration from hegemonic gendered norms, regardless of the political commitments of the performer in question—by centering a commitment to radical political world-making through music.