Baton Rouge SLAM! An Obituary for Summer 2016: Mapping Ethnographic Performance in Times of Crisis
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2026
Pages: 210
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2026
Pages: 211
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$65.00 USD
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Summer 2016: Racial tensions, protests, politics, and natural disasters flooded Baton Rouge, LA. One year later: Baton Rouge SLAM! An Obituary for Summer 2016 was staged. This ethnography weaves slam poetry, poet interviews, and community narratives to trace how times of crisis can be transformed into powerful live performance.
Written for lovers of performance, theater, slam poetry, ethnography, and cultural studies, this project travels between scholarship and stage. Engaging social justice movements, race, policing, and documentary storytelling, this book offers:
- Historical accounts of Baton Rouge during summer 2016.
- Explorations of slam poetry and performance ethnography as cultural practice.
- The full performance script of Baton Rouge SLAM!
- Reflections on ethically staging real events and lived experiences.
Dr. Joshua Hamzehee is a Communication Studies Professor at Santa Rosa Junior College and Director of the college's nationally recognized Forensics Speech, Debate, and Performance Team. As a performance artist, scholar, and coach, Josh engages in critical ethnographic methods, spoken word roots, and remixed performance techniques to excavate how community is built and how power is challenged through live, digital, and ritual performance.
In addition to authoring two books, Forensics Speech and Public Performance (Kendall Hunt, 2026) and Baton Rouge SLAM! An Obituary for Summer 2016 (Innovative Ink, 2026)—Josh’s academic and creative work is published in peer-reviewed journals like Text & Performance Quarterly, Liminalities, Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed, Florida Communication Journal, National Forensic Journal, and the Professional Wrestling Studies Journal.
For more than two decades, Josh has toured award-winning original solo and ensemble performance projects—like Burnt City: A Dystopian Bilingual One-Persian Show! and The Deported: A “Reality” Show! —and led workshops and institutes in over 30 states. In addition to private public speaking coaching, Josh is an engaged citizen, serving on local boards and commissions.
For updates, information, and bookings, visit: joshhamzehee.com.
Summer 2016: Racial tensions, protests, politics, and natural disasters flooded Baton Rouge, LA. One year later: Baton Rouge SLAM! An Obituary for Summer 2016 was staged. This ethnography weaves slam poetry, poet interviews, and community narratives to trace how times of crisis can be transformed into powerful live performance.
Written for lovers of performance, theater, slam poetry, ethnography, and cultural studies, this project travels between scholarship and stage. Engaging social justice movements, race, policing, and documentary storytelling, this book offers:
- Historical accounts of Baton Rouge during summer 2016.
- Explorations of slam poetry and performance ethnography as cultural practice.
- The full performance script of Baton Rouge SLAM!
- Reflections on ethically staging real events and lived experiences.
Dr. Joshua Hamzehee is a Communication Studies Professor at Santa Rosa Junior College and Director of the college's nationally recognized Forensics Speech, Debate, and Performance Team. As a performance artist, scholar, and coach, Josh engages in critical ethnographic methods, spoken word roots, and remixed performance techniques to excavate how community is built and how power is challenged through live, digital, and ritual performance.
In addition to authoring two books, Forensics Speech and Public Performance (Kendall Hunt, 2026) and Baton Rouge SLAM! An Obituary for Summer 2016 (Innovative Ink, 2026)—Josh’s academic and creative work is published in peer-reviewed journals like Text & Performance Quarterly, Liminalities, Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed, Florida Communication Journal, National Forensic Journal, and the Professional Wrestling Studies Journal.
For more than two decades, Josh has toured award-winning original solo and ensemble performance projects—like Burnt City: A Dystopian Bilingual One-Persian Show! and The Deported: A “Reality” Show! —and led workshops and institutes in over 30 states. In addition to private public speaking coaching, Josh is an engaged citizen, serving on local boards and commissions.
For updates, information, and bookings, visit: joshhamzehee.com.