Ronald L. Jackson II

Last updated

Ronald L. Jackson II is an American academic and author. He is Past President of the National Communication Association and a professor of communication, culture, and media, and a former dean of the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Cincinnati.

Contents

Early life and education

Jackson is a native of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. He graduated from Covington Latin School, then proceeded to earn a BA in speech communication and an MA in organizational communication from the University of Cincinnati (UC) before going on to complete his PhD at Howard University in rhetoric and intercultural communication. [1]

Career

Before arriving at UC, Jackson was a faculty member at Xavier University of Louisiana, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State University and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. His research has focused on the communication dimensions of the prevention of prostate cancer among African-American men, and on differing global definitions of masculinity. He has authored or edited 16 books, including Gladiators in Suits: Race, Gender, and the Politics of Representation in Scandal, with Simone Puff and Kimberly Moffitt, Culturing Manhood, coauthored with Murali Balaji, and Marginalized Masculinities, with Jamie Moshin; and was previously editor of the journal Critical Studies in Media Communication . [1]

Works

The Negotiation of Cultural Identity (1999)

The Negotiation of Cultural Identity: Perceptions of European Americans and African Americans examines African-American and European-American students' identities through focus groups. Jackson's questions focus on similarities and differences between African Americans' and European Americans' cultural self-definitions, similarities and differences in their negotiations of cultural identity, the long-term consequences of cultural identity negotiation, and the conditions under which cultural identities are reconsidered. Jackson finds that European Americans' lives are largely unexamined in the cultural realm, whereas African Americans believed in the necessity of a strong cultural identity. [2] Writing in the Journal of Communication , Heather Hartwig Boyd praised Jackson's approach and analysis as offering "useful insights about how respondents do or do not define their own cultures", but suggested that the focus group approach may not be "the most effective way to determine whether the respondents have experienced long-term consequences to identity negotiation." [2] In the Quarterly Journal of Speech Felicia F. Jordan-Jackson praised Jackson's use of qualitative and quantitative methods and wrote that he "deserves to be commended for addressing such a timely and relevant topic." [3]

African American Communication (2003)

African American Communication: Exploring Identity and Culture, coauthored with Michael Hecht and Sidney A. Ribeau, seeks to demonstrate why and how communication in interpersonal interactions between African Americans differs from that between European Americans. The authors argue that African-American identity, communicative competence, language style and relationship formation and maintenance are strategies adopted in order to navigate a dominant European power structure than inhibits cultural authenticity and access to power. The book won the 2003 National Communication Association African American Communication & Culture's Distinguished Scholarship Award. [4]

Understanding African American Rhetoric (2003)

Understanding African American Rhetoric: Classical Origins to Contemporary Innovations is a collection of essays edited by Jackson and Elaine B. Richardson. Winner of the National Communication Association African American Communication & Culture's 2004 Distinguished Scholarship Award the book seeks to challenge Eurocentric assumptions in communication studies and to celebrate the African American rhetorical tradition, and covers topics including conceptions of African rhetoric as a rhetoric of community and resistance, a new orientation toward rhetoric centering oral discourse, and the politics of defining African American rhetoric. Cory L. Young, writing in the Southern Communication Journal, found the strength of the collection in its "broad range of essays that appeals to a wide variety of academic audiences, and its dialectical perspective and embrace of the "contradictions and tensions inherent in the labels African and American." [5]

African American Rhetoric(s) (2004)

African American Rhetoric(s): Interdisciplinary Perspectives is a collection of 14 essays edited by Jackson and Elaine B. Richardson, with an introduction by Keith Gilyard. Writing for Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries , R. B. Schuman described the book's insights as "disparate but important" and singled out Kali Tal's essay "From Panther to Monster", on the Black Power movement, for praise. [6]

Black Pioneers in Communication Research (2006)

Black Pioneers in Communication Research, written by Jackson and Sonja M. Brown Givens, is the 2006 winner of the National Communication Association African American Communication & Culture Division's award for scholarly excellence. It is a one-of-a-kind collection of biographical and critical snapshots of black scholars in communication studies, including Molefi Kete Asante, Donald Bogle, Oscar H. Gandy Jr., and Stuart Hall. The authors argue that mainstream scholarship has failed to acknowledge the contributions of black thinkers. Bryant Keith Alexander, writing in the European Journal of Cultural Studies , praised the book's biographical sections, which "outline central components and values of African-based cultures" and described the book as a whole as "a much-needed volume for both young black scholars seeking a historical foothold ... as well as scholars seeking to understand the tone and tenure, the breadth and depth of scholarship written by black communication scholars". [7]

Scripting the Black Masculine Body (2006)

In Scripting the Black Masculine Body: Identity, Discourse and Racial Politics in Popular Media Jackson uses approaches from intercultural communication and critical identity studies to argue for a "scripting" (see Behavioral script) of African American identities, especially with regard to the black male body. He focuses on black body politics in the Jim Crow era and contemporary productions of black masculinity in film, music and news broadcasts. This book won the 2007 National Communication Association International & Intercultural Communication Division award for best scholarly book. Writing for Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, D. E. Magill described the book as "a significant contribution to the literature on masculinity studies, African American studies, and intercultural communications ... Highly recommended. [8]

Encyclopedia of Identity (2010)

The Encyclopedia of Identity, edited by Jackson won the 2011 American Library Association's Outstanding Reference Source award. It is an encyclopedia comprising over 300 entries that approach identity as a socially constructed phenomenon and address its relevance to everyday life. W. Fontaine, writing for Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, recommended the encyclopedia "for libraries serving programs focused on issues of identity" but criticised the articles' bibliographies and uneven level of comprehensibility. [9]

Masculinity in the Black Imagination (2011)

Masculinity in the Black Imagination: Politics of Communicating Race and Manhood is a collection of essays edited by Jackson and Mark C. Hopson. The book employs an interdisciplinary approach to examine black masculinity, focusing on communication studies, ethnography, history, psychology and sociology. The editors propose that moving beyond the discourse of black masculinity requires an expansion of the imagination. Topics covered include the history of racism in the United States in comparison with racism in Australia, black Greek letter organizations, black men's performances of gender and masculinity, black masculinity in different forms of media, and personal examinations of black masculinity. Marjorie L. Dorimé-Williams in Spectrum: A Journal on Black Men described the book as "a worthwhile contribution to the field of gender studies, Black male masculinity, and the general conversation about race and gender relations." [10]

Black Comics (2013)

Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation is a collection of essays edited by Jackson and Sheena C. Howard, and winner of the 2014 International Comic-Con Will Eisner Award for Best Academic/Scholarly Work. Sheena Howard became the 1st African American woman to receive the coveted Eisner Award. The essays analyze comic books, graphic novels, newspaper strips and political cartoons by and about African Americans, from both contemporary and historical perspectives. Topics covered include the political activism of cartoonist Jackie Ormes, cartoon depictions of Condoleezza Rice, and Aaron McGruder's The Boondocks . J. A. Lent, writing for Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, recommended the book but warned of "shoddy editing" and noted that the essays "vary in quality and proficiency". [11]

Bibliography

Written by Jackson

Edited by Jackson

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masculinity</span> Attributes associated with boys and men

Masculinity is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors considered masculine are influenced by both cultural factors and biological factors. To what extent masculinity is biologically or socially influenced is subject to debate. It is distinct from the definition of the biological male sex, as anyone can exhibit masculine traits. Standards of masculinity vary across different cultures and historical periods.

Whiteness studies is the study of the structures that produce white privilege, the examination of what whiteness is when analyzed as a race, a culture, and a source of systemic racism, and the exploration of other social phenomena generated by the societal compositions, perceptions and group behaviors of white people. It is an interdisciplinary arena of inquiry that has developed beginning in the United States from white trash studies and critical race studies, particularly since the late 20th century. It is focused on what proponents describe as the cultural, historical and sociological aspects of people identified as white, and the social construction of "whiteness" as an ideology tied to social status.

Michael L. Hecht is a researcher in the field of human communication, emphasising the areas of interpersonal and inter-ethnic relationships, identity, and adolescent drug resistance. In 1973, Hecht earned his M.A. from Queens College, City University of New York and his Ph.D. I in communications from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is now Liberal Arts Research Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences and Crime, Law, and Justice in the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences at Penn State University. He has previously been full professor at Arizona State University.

Hazel Vivian Carby is Professor Emerita of African American Studies and of American Studies. She served as Charles C. and Dorathea S. Dilley Professor of African American Studies and American Studies at Yale University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molefi Kete Asante</span> American academic (born 1942)

Molefi Kete Asante is an American professor and philosopher. He is a leading figure in the fields of African-American studies, African studies, and communication studies. He is currently a professor in the Department of Africology at Temple University, where he founded the PhD program in African-American Studies. He is president of the Molefi Kete Asante Institute for Afrocentric Studies.

Whiteness theory is a field under whiteness studies, that studies what white identity means in terms of social, political, racial, economic, culture, etc. Whiteness theory posits that if some Western societies make whiteness central to their respective national and cultural identities, their white populations may become blind to the privilege associated with White identity. The theory examines how that blindness may exclude, otherize and perhaps harm non-white individuals and segments of the population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon J. Bronner</span> American historian

Simon J. Bronner is an American folklorist, ethnologist, historian, sociologist, educator, college dean, and author.

E. Patrick Johnson is the dean of the Northwestern University School of Communication. He is the Carlos Montezuma Professor of Performance Studies and professor of African-American studies at Northwestern University. He is also a visiting scholar at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Johnson is the founding director of the Black Arts Initiative at Northwestern. His scholarly and artistic contributions focus on performance studies, African-American studies and women, gender and sexuality studies.

Cultural contracts refer to the degree that cultural values are exchanged between groups. They are the agreements made between two groups of people regarding how they will modify their identities in unison. Cultural contract theory investigates how identities shift and are negotiated through cross-cultural interaction. It extends identity negotiation theory and uncertainty reduction theory by focusing defining the negotiation experience from the perspective of minority groups when dealing with cultural norms set by the majority groups. Relationally coordinating with others is the main objective of a cultural contract. The three fundamental premises of the cultural contracts theory are that identities are contractual, continually transferred, and requirement for validation.

The Black Scholar (TBS), the third-oldest journal of Black culture and political thought in the United States, was founded in 1969 near San Francisco, California, by Robert Chrisman, Nathan Hare, and Allan Ross. It is arguably the most influential journal of Black Studies and central to the very emergence of that field. After being renewed and reinvigorated in 2012, it has continued its influence. In 2017, The Princeton Review of Academic Journals ranked it the number-one journal of Black Studies in the United States. Its associated Black Scholar Press has published books since the 1970s. The journal is currently housed at Boston University's Program in African American Studies.

Hip hop feminism is a sub-set of black feminism that centers on intersectional subject positions involving race and gender in a way that acknowledges the contradictions in being a black feminist, such as black women's enjoyment in hip hop music and culture, rather than simply focusing on the victimization of black women in hip hop culture due to interlocking systems of oppressions involving race, class, and gender.

African American Communication: Exploring Identity and Culture is a 2003 book by Michael Hecht, Ronald L. Jackson II and Sidney A. Ribeau.

<i>Black Feminist Anthropology</i>

Black Feminist Anthropology: Theory, Politics, Praxis, and Poetics is a 2001 collection of essays from nine black feminist anthropologists. The book was edited by Irma McClaurin, who also wrote the collection's foreword and one of the essays. It was first published on 1 August 2001 through Rutgers University Press and focuses on the essay writers' personal experiences as black women in the world and how that influenced their anthropological practices.

Sheena C. Howard is an African-American academic, author and producer. She is a professor of communication at Rider University. She is also the past chair of the Black Caucus and the founder of Power Your Research, and academic branding company. Howard is the recipient of the 2014 Eisner Award for her first book Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation (2013).

John L. Jackson Jr. is an American anthropologist, filmmaker, author, and university administrator. He is currently the Provost and Richard Perry University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Jackson is the author of Harlemworld: Doing Race and Class in Contemporary Black America (2001); Real Black: Adventures in Racial Sincerity (2005); Racial Paranoia: The Unintended Consequences of Political Correctness (2008); Thin Description: Ethnography and the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem (2013). He has also directed films that explore questions of race, diaspora, migration, and media.

David Buchbinder is professor of Masculinities Studies at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia, and adjunct professor of English and Cultural Studies at the University of Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feminist rhetoric</span> Practice of rhetoric

Feminist rhetoric emphasizes the narratives of all demographics, including women and other marginalized groups, into the consideration or practice of rhetoric. Feminist rhetoric does not focus exclusively on the rhetoric of women or feminists, but instead prioritizes the feminist principles of inclusivity, community, and equality over the classic, patriarchal model of persuasion that ultimately separates people from their own experience. Seen as the act of producing or the study of feminist discourses, feminist rhetoric emphasizes and supports the lived experiences and histories of all human beings in all manner of experiences. It also redefines traditional delivery sites to include non-traditional locations such as demonstrations, letter writing, and digital processes, and alternative practices such as rhetorical listening and productive silence. According to author and rhetorical feminist Cheryl Glenn in her book Rhetorical Feminism and This Thing Called Hope (2018), "rhetorical feminism is a set of tactics that multiplies rhetorical opportunities in terms of who counts as a rhetor, who can inhabit an audience, and what those audiences can do." Rhetorical feminism is a strategy that counters traditional forms of rhetoric, favoring dialogue over monologue and seeking to redefine the way audiences view rhetorical appeals.

Adrienne Shaw is an American game studies scholar and Associate Professor at Temple University in the Klein College of Media and Communication. She is known for her work on queer theory and LGBTQ representation in video games. She is the author of Gaming at the Edge: Sexuality and Gender at the Margins of Gamer Culture, the co-editor of Queer Game Studies, and the founder of the LGBTQ Video Games Archive.

Kishonna L. Gray is an American communication and gender studies researcher based at the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences. Gray is best known for her research on technology, gaming, race, and gender. As an expert in Women's and Communication Studies, she has written several articles for publications such as the New York Times. In the academic year 2016–2017, she was a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Visiting Professors and Scholars Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, hosted by the Department of Women's and Gender Studies and the MIT Comparative Media Studies/Writing Program. She has also been a faculty visitor at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and at Microsoft Research.

Kent Alan Ono is an American academic, author, and educator. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah and was Chair of the department from 2012 to 2017. He was the President of the National Communication Association from 2020 to 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 Reilly, M. B. (May 1, 2012). "UC Alum Ronald L. Jackson II Returns to Campus as New McMicken Dean". University of Cincinnati . Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  2. 1 2 Boyd, Heather Hartwig (September 2000). "Review of Thomas Wartenberg, Unlikely Couples: Movie Romance as Social Criticism; Ronald L. Jackson II, The Negotiation of Cultural Identity: Perceptions of European Americans and African Americans". Journal of Communication . 50 (3): 181–3. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2000.tb02860.x.
  3. ↑ Jordan-Jackson, Felicia F. (2002). "Review of Ronald L. Jackson II, The Negotiation of Cultural Identity: Perceptions of European Americans and African Americans". Quarterly Journal of Speech . 88 (3): 359–61. doi:10.1080/00335630209384382. S2CID   219715875.
  4. ↑ McIlwain, Charlton D. (2003). "Review of Michael L. Hecht, Ronald L. Jackson, II, and Sidney A. Ribeau, African American Communication: Exploring Identity and Culture". Southern Communication Journal. 68 (2): 174–5. doi:10.1080/10417940309373258. S2CID   219693230.
  5. ↑ Young, Cory L. (2004). "Review of Ronald L. Jackson II and Elaine B. Richardson (Eds.), Understanding African American Rhetoric: Classical Origins to Contemporary Innovations". Southern Communication Journal. 70 (1): 81. doi:10.1080/10417940409373314. S2CID   219691951.
  6. ↑ Schuman, R. B. (October 2004). "Review of Elaine B. Richardson and Ronald L. Jackson II (eds.), African American Rhetoric(s): Interdisciplinary Perspectives". Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries . 42 (2): 42–0780. doi:10.5860/CHOICE.42-0780.
  7. ↑ Alexander, Bryant Keith (November 2009). "Review of Ronald L. Jackson II and Sonja M. Brown Givens, Black Pioneers in Communication Research". European Journal of Cultural Studies . 12 (4): 517–520. doi:10.1177/1567549409542514. S2CID   145433988.
  8. ↑ Magill, D. E. (July 2006). "Review of Jackson, Ronald L., II. Scripting the black masculine body: identity, discourse, and racial politics in popular media". Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries . 43 (11): 43–6290. doi:10.5860/CHOICE.43-6290.
  9. ↑ Fontaine, W. (March 2011). "Review of Ronald L. Jackson II with Michael A. Hogg (eds.), Encyclopedia of Identity". Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries . 48 (7): 48–3597. doi:10.5860/CHOICE.48-3597.
  10. ↑ Dorimé-Williams, Marjorie L. (Autumn 2012). "Review of Ronald L. Jackson II and Mark C. Hopson (eds.), Masculinity in the Black Imagination: Politics of Communicating Race and Manhood" . Spectrum: A Journal on Black Men. 1 (1): 199–202. doi:10.2979/spectrum.1.1.199. S2CID   142858550.
  11. ↑ Lent, J. A. (October 2013). "Review of Sheena C. Howard and Ronald L. Jackson II (eds.), Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation". Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries . 51 (2): 51–0714. doi:10.5860/CHOICE.51-0714.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.