Judith Lynne Hanna
she/her
Dr. Judith Hanna earned her 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, Hanna has conducted research on education; urban areas; and the meaning of dance in villages and cities in Africa, and theaters, school playgrounds, classrooms, adult entertainment clubs, and neo-burlesque venues in the U.S.
Her books are: To Dance Is Human: A Theory of Nonverbal Communication (University of Chicago Press), Dance, Sex, and Gender (University of Chicago Press), The Performer-Audience Connection: Emotion to Metaphor in Dance and Society (University of Texas Press), Partnering Dance and Education: Intelligent Moves for Changing Times (Human Kinetics Press), Dancing for Health: Conquering and Preventing Stress (Altamira), Disruptive School Behavior: Class, Race, and Culture(Holmes & Meier), Urban Dynamics in Black Africa, co-author (Transaction), Naked Truth: Strip Clubs, Democracy, and a Christian Right, (University of Texas Press), and Dancing to Learn: The Brain’s Cognition, Emotion, and Movement. (Rowman & Littlefield).
Hanna’s more than a hundred articles appear in, e.g., Comparative Urban Research, Current Anthropology, Gender and Culture, Dance Research Journal, The Drama Review, Educational Researcher, Interethnic Communication, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Journal of Planning Literature, New York Times, Play and Culture Studies, Policy Studies Review, and Washington Post.
Since 1995 she has been an expert court witness on exotic dance 150 cases nationwide.
Her views on exotic dance have been solicited by, for example, The Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert and Bloomberg News. Hanna has lectured at more than 50 colleges and universities, addressed more than 30 association meetings and special conferences and seminars; published her work in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Jamaica, Netherlands, Poland, Santo Domingo, Sweden, and U.K.; and appeared on radio and television in Canada, Nigeria, Sweden, U.K., and the U.S.