Judith Lynne Hanna

Judith Lynne Hanna (born 1936) has made significant contributions to the arts, humanities and social sciences. Her research has gained wide recognition in academia, court decisions, newspapers, radio and TV networks in the United States, and similar newspapers and media in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Ireland. Hanna's work has been published in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ghana, Jamaica, Netherlands, Poland, Santo Domingo, Sweden, and the U.K. The University of Maryland Libraries' Special Collections in Performing Arts holds her collection of "research materials, subject materials, writings, photographs, video and audio recordings, newspaper clippings, correspondence, interview transcripts, and materials from numerous, varied organizations."

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.

She has been a Senior Research Scholar in the Department of Dance and Affiliate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Maryland, an educator, 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, urban studies, and at-risk youth.

Publications

To her credit are landmark books: 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.

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