Christine Capetola, assistant professor of African American studies and accomplished scholar of queer, Black, sound, affect and performance studies, died July 30, 16 months after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Capetola joined Cal State Fullerton in fall 2021 in a postdoctoral fellow position awarded by the American Council of Learned Societies and transitioned to teaching in the Department of African American Studies the following year. As an educator, Capetola was deeply committed to research, service and sharing their expertise with the campus and wider community.
A dedicated scholar in the field of African American studies, Capetola wrote extensively about the vibrational energy of Black music and its impact on listeners. Their work was published in such academic journals as American Music Perspectives, Journal of Popular Music Studies, and Women & Performance: a journal of feminist theory.
Known for its innovative interdisciplinary methodology, Capetola’s academic scholarship was featured in several talks and conference presentations, including at the Pop Conference, American Studies Association Annual Conference and National Women’s Studies Association Annual Conference.
Their first book “Sonic Femmeness: Black Culture Makers, Felt History and Vibrational Identity,” which is under contract with Duke University Press, explores Black genders and sexualities in popular music and culture through the lens of femmeness, a term used to describe things that have a “feminine” presentation and energy. Capetola studied these concepts through music, looking at the sounds, affects, vibrations and visuals of Black experimental pop artists such as Blood Orange and Janelle Monáe.
Before arriving at CSUF, Capetola earned a doctorate in American studies from the University of Texas at Austin, where they were offered a position as an Andrew W. Mellon Engaged Scholar Initiative Postdoctoral Fellow. They also taught communications and gender and sexuality studies at Tulane University.