BLEC Yannick (PRCE)

Yannick M. BLEC holds a doctorate from the University of Paris-Est and is a certified English teacher assigned at the University of Paris 8. His Ph.D. dissertation entitled, "The Blafringo-Arumerican in William Melvin Kelley’s Work : African American identity between Concept and Lived Experience" focused on the way in which the author portrayed African American individuals in his narratives during the Segregation Era and can fall within the field of cultural studies.

He is interested in the construction of subaltern identities in relation to a hegemonic group, as well as in race relations. His current research deals with African American identities and, more specifically, with the intersection inherent in Black LGBTQ+ masculinities in US ghettos. In addition to representations, his research brings to light figures of racial, sexual, and gender emancipation in the US context as they appear in the arts (Literature, Hip Hop, cinema, popular culture, etc.)—political vectors to obtain equal rights

He also co-manages the section « Comptes rendus de colloques » in the online journal Quaderna.

Research Areas :

Yannick M. Blec’s research is transdisciplinary and unfolds around the arts, philosophy, psychoanalysis, urbanism (in the broadest sense) ; sociological, geographical, and historical studies ; social and political sciences. In this way, his research relates to cultural studies. He is particularly interested in the following subjects :

  • Race relations in the USA (historical and contemporary perspectives) ;
  • Identity factors : otherness, the self, existential realities, cultural and social identities, the individual and individuality, community ;
  • Urbanity and the construction of African American identity in inner cities ;
  • Minority identities : of gender, gays, lesbians, queer ;
  • Party and Play (PnP/chemsex), HIV/AIDS & other STD/STI ;
  • African American, American, and militant literatures ;
  • African American LGBTQ+ popular cultures (music, cinema, series, music videos) ;
  • Use of social networks in African American communities ;
  • Intersectionality ;
  • Inter- and transdisciplinarity ;
  • (Cultural) transfers ;
  • Reception.

Published papers

  • Blec, Yannick M. “‘’Cause Not Enough Niggas Rap and Be Gay :’ Redefining Black Queer Masculinities Through Intersectional Dynamics and Performativity in Contemporary Rap”, Coup de théâtre, n°37 « Performing Gender, Sexual and Racial Dynamics on the US Stage », 4ème trimestre 2023, p. 95-122

  • Blec, Yannick M. « Masculinités, sexualités et race : défaire les stéréotypes », in Myriam Boussahba, Emmanuelle Delanoë, Sandeep Bakshi (dir.). Qu’est-ce que l’intersectionnalité ? Dominations plurielles : sexe, classe et race, Paris : Petite Biblio Payot Essais, 2021, p. 183-207.
  • Blec, Yannick M. « Imaginaire linguistique : la langue vernaculaire africaine américaine comme agent identitaire chez William Melvin Kelley », Quaderna, n°5 « Glottophobies et imaginaires des langues », mai 2021, https://quaderna.org/5/imaginaire-linguistique-la-langue-vernaculaire-africaine-americaine-comme-agent-identitaire-chez-william-melvin-kelley/ 
  • Blec, Yannick M. “Stepping to His Own Music : Influences and Plurality of Black Identities in the Work of William Melvin Kelley”, in Tru Leverette (dir.). With Fists Raised : Radical Art, Contemporary Activism, and the Iconoclasm of the Black Arts Movement, Liverpool : Liverpool UP, 2021, p. 141-159. 
  • Blec, Yannick M. « “Black Identity” : d’une identité unique à des identités plurielles. Approche épistémologique des identités noires dans la littérature américaine des années 1960 », in L.S. Fournier, C. Bernier-Boissard, et al. (dir.). Identités imaginées. Aix-Marseille : PU d’Aix-Marseille, 2021, p. 159-166.  
  • Blec, Yannick M. « Réinvention de la mémoire noire américaine dans les récits du Black Arts Movement », Babel–Littératures plurielles, n°40 « Écritures minoritaires de la mémoire dans les Amériques », 2ème semestre 2019, https://journals.openedition.org/babel/8168.