Meeting with Upward Bound student

Today, we coordinated an event for students in UTSA's Upward Bound program. Our Fellows discussed their recent trip to New York City with the high school students, provided opportunities for students to respond to a series of questions about travel and cultural landmarks, and then provided information on college.

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AALCI in NYC

From Thursday, June 20 - Monday, June 24, we spent time in New York City, an annual activity for our summer program. We visited the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the African Burial Ground, Strand Book Store, the Brooklyn Museum, Chinatown, and other destinations during our time in the city.

Fellows in Harlem

Program founder/director with Fellows outside the Schomburg

In the African Burial Ground museum

Outside the African Burial Ground

Outside the main branch of the New York Public Library

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The AALCI Poster Session

June 18, the Fellows held a poster session to discuss their research projects with various UTSA guests.

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Week 1 photos: selection of images

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The Multi-data artist currently known as Bridget Drinka

She's visited in 2010, 2011, and 2012, so of course we had to have her back again this year. Professor Bridget Drinka stopped by to meet with our group this year to talk linguistics, sociolinguistics, the histories and migrations of speech, the New York subway announcers, and of course those whole Rful and Rless patterns.

I've been trying to figure out or perhaps quantify why the 30 students who have participated in our program have found Drinka's presentations so compelling. Maybe the answer is in the data. Or more specifically, perhaps the expanded body of data and metadata that she presents the students with draws their interest.

For one, she offers fascinating, short research stories, telling narratives about linguistics with key characters such as William Labov, often considered the founder of sociologlinstics, the different people he studied, and John Baugh, a student of Labov and former professor for Drinka. She takes on different regional dialects from England and Ireland to various places in the U.S. At moments, she highlights her own speech patterns from Illinois where she was born; she highlights her accommodations of Texas speaking pattern where she lives now; and for the purposes of her discussion, she emulates speech patterns of people from Massachusetts, New York, and Georgia.

Each year, she'll pick up on the side conversations the Fellows are having about a popular phrase from a rap or R&B song and then attempt to pronounce the piece as the students do. They always get a kick out of her attempt. I always take note that she works to absorb a speech pattern or phrasing that might be unfamiliar to her.

Beyond the verbal, she draws images on the board--shapes to represent countries and arrows to signal the travels of peoples and language practices. She pauses at moments to ask students where they are from so that she can mark their places with stars on the map that she draws. She returns to those stars during the course of the presentation to pose questions to Fellows about how people from their areas speak. She also writes the names of people and key terms on the board: Labov, covert prestige, and monophthongization.

Finally and throughout all of this, there are the body movements, facial expressions, and hand movements. She gestures, poses, points, emulates others, stretches her arms wide to show expansiveness, draws her arms in to signal closeness. Her physical movements and expressions are synced to the changing paces and pitches of her voice as well as to the contours of the narratives she presents. 

Some folks refer to her as a English, linguistics professor. Others of us know the truth: Bridget Drinka is a multi-data artist and storyteller. 

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Tara Schmidt and those Clarifying Questions

Tara Schmidt introducing the session to the group

An important yet almost invisible time-stamp for AALCI occurs every year near the close of the Fellows' meeting with research services librarian Tara Schmidt. She has each of them mention their projects, and she and her co-presenter Juli McLoone, special collections librarian, begin asking follow-up questions that will allow them -- Schmidt and McLoone -- to better assist and direct the Fellows to appropriate library resources.

I've watched the exchange between Schmidt and the Fellows play out in 2010, 2011, 2012, and now in 2013. I have come to realize that the brief question session with Schmidt is a key moment for the Fellows to really start thinking about where primary and secondary materials concerning their projects might be located. Over the last four years, Schmidt is the first professional, beyond me in the classroom, who engages the Fellows in a series of questions, clarifying questions it turns out, about their proposed research projects in the early stages of those endeavors.

There's always considerable talk about mentors and mentorship, you know, how students and junior faculty and even early-career administrators and professionals need mentors. Agreed: mentors are important and conversations about why and how people need more of them are important. But too often the conversation stops there, and we hardly have an adequate label, much less a sustained conversation, about the added value exchange that results when someone other than mentors step in and ask series of clarifying questions.

My guess is that few undergraduates, graduate students, and junior and senior scholars have opportunities to hear and address those kinds of questions at the early, pre-abstract and conference paper stages of their projects. Each year, we have Fellows rethinking and refining their projects shortly after considering some of the clarifying questions that Scmidt poses. What would it mean if more scholars--at various stages of their careers--considered participating in such exchanges right as their projects were in initial phases?
 
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DH special collections librarian or special collections DH scholar?

Is Juli McLoone a special collections librarian who works in digital humanities, or is she a digital humanities scholar who works in a university's special collections library? That's one of the questions I was posing to myself yesterday as McLoone led a presentation concerning digital collections for Fellows in our program. I chose not to pose my question to her just yet, for not knowing allowed me to linger on the issue a little longer and consider multiple possibilities.   

The question of whether we view DH as adjective or noun, first or second, reminds me of those sometimes intense debates in African American literary history about "black artists" vs "artists who were black." One of the most notable examples, of course, was Langston Hughes signifying on Countee Cullen. And perhaps, even further back, the more fitting analogy in this case would be some form of double consciousness, in this case, the DH'er and archivist.

As far as I could tell based on past observations -- 2010, 2011, 2012, and yesterday -- McLoone is as comfortable guiding people through an archive and items in special collections at UTSA as she is leading a group to and through various digital collections. These days, I suppose, high digital competency is fully encoded into the DNA of contemporary folks in the field of library science. In this regard, McLoone and her co-presenter research services librarian Tara Schmidt would likely not separate and classify their activities as DH over there and library work over there the way that I was doing with my question. For them, it is more of a fusion, both/and rather than either/or. 

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AALCI Fellows meet with UTSA Librarians

Juli McLoone works with Fellows on digital collection

Research services librarian Tara Schmidt and special collections librarian Juli McLoone, both at UTSA, are two of our key and familiar contributors to the African American Literatures and Cultures Institute. They led library presentations for our Fellows in 2010, 2011, and 2012. They continued with the practice today by discussing the UTSA Libraries in general and also providing our group with information about digital collections.    

In particular, McLoone discussed what university archives must take into consideration concerning what level of access to grant the public for special collections and how to decide what materials hold "enduring value." Not all artifacts from personal collections hold equal worth, right? McLoone and Schmidt prompted us on thinking about those issues.

Tara Schmidt discusses library resources with students

I am now especially intrigued based on an exercise McLoone led where she asked the Fellows to name documents that they had produced over the last 48 hours. Folks named about 17 items, including facebook posts, text messages, grocery lists, and drafts of personal statements. The group was then asked to identify documents that had been produced about them by others, and students mentioned transcripts, recommendations, and medical records.

The first list was longer and easier to create than the second one. Given the recent coverage about the expanded and questionable capabilities of the U.S. intelligence community collecting "big data" and metadata on citizens and perceived threats around the globe, however, I might want to put more thought and consideration into the documents that are produced about people, and what that means.

Today's presentation has me thinking a little more too about my activities as a literary historian of contemporary writers, where I am constantly tracking and then producing documents about my subjects. New media and technologies have certainly expanded the possibilities for following the digital footprints of authors.      

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Allegra Castro and Erin Ranft, the organizers

Allegra Castro and Erin Ranft at the AALCI opening reception

Earlier this week at one of the panels, no one would have noticed if we didn't introduce Allegra Castro and Erin Ranft. In this cosmos of AALCI, who doesn't know those two already? Long before the Fellows arrived, Allegra was organizing and handling logistics for the Institute. She was filling out paperwork, reserving rooms, sending emails about forms, re-sending emails with a friendly reminder about the first emails, and doing everything else to make sure we got started in the best possible way.

Erin, or "Dr. E," as well call her, took on the programming duties as Allegra's term ended, not that Allegra's term can really ever end. Dr. E. made sure everyone got checked into the residences ok, and she has been handling the day-to-day logistics and sat in on some of the sessions. Oh, and the grocery stores runs. Who could survive without the good ol' trips to the grocery store and other spots where car transportation is required?

Erin Ranft discussing AALCI setup with Institute director Joycelyn Moody

It's been something observing Dr. E. coordinating the details of our group's activities and movements before those activities and movements happen. She's certainly made and making our lives easy here. 

I was thinking and mentioning "outliers" to the group early on and noting that seemingly exceptional or accomplished people are often...no...always the beneficiaries of an extensive network of support. In more ways than our folks can count, Allegra and Erin have been integral to that network of support.

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Roxanne Donovan...the Truth

Roxanne A. Donovan

Remember, back in the day, when we would speak about someone as being "the Truth"? It was street-talk that meant someone was especially gifted or extraordinary. Before that, we really used the phrase to describe what someone was doing: "he kicks the Truth;" "she spitting the Truth," you know, that kind of thing. Well, my homegirl Joycelyn Moody doesn't really use that phrasing, but if you condense all of what she was saying in the lead up to our guest speaker, you basically end up here: Roxanne Donovan is the Truth.

On Friday, June 7, Professor Donovan ran a workshop entitled "Black Women in the Ivory Tower: Stressed and Sick to Happy and Healthy" for our Fellows and a group of UTSA faculty members. Donovan is a professor Psychology at Kennesaw University, and her primary research concentrates on gender and racial oppression in the lives of Black women. Off the top, for her workshop, her coverage of stress, relevant research and findings, and stress management techniques was especially helpful in ways that many of us will be working out from months and years to come. Even long after the workshop, I kept hearing the Fellows say "I needed to hear that." Yes. Exactly.

It needs to be acknowledged, though, that a comparable high value feature of the workshop was the opportunity for our group to observe a sister-scholar dropping knowledge in her field. Perhaps we can put it like this: our Fellows were gaining useful information from Professor Donovan's workshop and at the same time witnessing the practice and performance of expertise.  Sure, anybody in the room could have checked out info on the topic via wikipedia, or WebMD maybe? But there was something special about conversing live and in person with someone who's clearly completed her proverbial 10,000 hours of deliberate practice.

There were multiple moments during her discussion that Professor Donovan talked through the specific ways the body and especially our brains respond to real and perceived incidents of stress. Her use of specialized terminology; her vivid description of our brains on stress; and her blends of anecdotal and scientific evidence allowed us to be students, dutifully taking notes, but we were also witnesses, aware that we were observing something that was, at least for this space, unusual.

Folks had various positive things to say at the close of the workshop, but long story short, they were basically saying this: Roxanne Donovan...the Truth.  


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UTSA graduate students meet with AALCI Fellows

Elizabeth Cali, Aravis Thomas, Erin Ranft, and Allegra Castro

We've learned over the years that one of the most useful ways of assisting the Fellows is putting them in touch with folks who are going through and just recently completed the process of graduate school. Doing so can give students a grassroots' perspective.

That was the thinking for us organizing a panel of UTSA English department graduate students Elizabeth Cali, Aravis Thomas, and Allegra Castro as well as recent PhD graduate of the program Erin Ranft. The panelists responded to the Fellows questions about getting into graduate school, navigating the overall process, developing a balance between academic and completing the degree.  

The panelists helped us advance one of the major objectives of our Institute: demystifying graduate school and academic professions.  

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Kelly Rodgers visits AALCI

"She brought you in this world," I was telling the Fellows earlier this week in reference to Professor Kelly Rodgers, who coordinates the selection committee for the African American Literatures and Cultures Institute. On Wednesday, June 5, Rodgers shared a story our Fellows will not soon forget about her journeys from one of four black people at a small college in Missouri to near-law school student to math instructor to graduate student in romance languages to graduate student in educational psychology to college professor.

When she's not visiting the crew here, Rodgers is moving the crowd at the Borough of Manhattan Community College where she teaches psychology, developmental psychology, and child development. The Fellows found Rodgers's narrative "liberating" in large part because so many of their worries about whether they would have to follow a single path. Hearing that Rodgers is blending various aspects of her prior academic training in Spanish, mathematics, and educational psychology in her professional life made folks more aware that they could pursue multiple interests. 


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San Antonio Ethnic Arts Society 30th Anniversary Exhibit opening

On Wednesday, June 5, we attended the opening of the exhibit "San Antonio Ethnic Arts Society 30th Anniversary Exhibition" on the campus of the University of Texas at San Antonio. The exhibit features pieces by several artists in the SEAS. We were pleased to get a chance to view the exhibit and meet some of the artists.    

SEAS artist Paul Hurd discusses his sculpture with Joycelyn Moody

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Kevin Morris

By Corey Reed and Courtnee Fenner

Kevin Morris, a senior at the University of Arkansas, symbolizes the true power of thought. Driven by intellectualism and the pursuit of “Truth” in philosophy, Kevin finds joy and purpose in asking the harder questions about the world. Out of the darkness in his past, Kevin strives for the light of enlightenment and tells stories of life along the way.

When Kevin is not enjoying a juicy steak and a mix of jazz and hip-hop, he is tackling the complex philosophy of Jean Paul Sartré. His love of lyricism and controversial philosophy is what inspired his favorite song to be “F*ck The Police” by NWA. He not only critiques lyrics but also does freelance writing on hip-hop topics.

Kevin’s area of focus is black masculinity and the philosophies associated with that demographic. He hopes to inspire the world through his research and teaching. Whether the avenue is the classroom, scholarly journal, or hip-hop music, Kevin is going to teach a great lesson and tell a powerful story.

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Mykesha Jackson

By Corey Reed and Lauren Barnes

Mykesha Jackson is a prime example of how greatness can bloom, even after being planted in cement and thrashed by pain. She is a proud senior at Drury University, focusing on being a role model to her two younger brothers. Despite two brain surgeries, being bullied, and inadequate support, Mykesha has cultivated the pain into power and became remarkably strong.

Mykesha is undoubtedly a fighter, paving the way for others. As a Communications major, she understands the importance of spreading her message of positivity. With an emphasis on young women’s mental health, she is involved in a number of on-campus organizations that allow her to share her ideas of self-respect, love, and perseverance.

Mykesha is a confident, secure young woman who is an inspiration to the world. Her belief in empowering and respecting herself, as well as others, has given her research, and her life, purpose. Mykesha, a powerful role model and triumphant queen, is leading America toward peace and love.

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Corey Reed

By Kevin Morris and Khadeidra Billingsley

The altruistic scholar from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a rising senior at Morehouse College double majoring in English and Philosophy. Service stands out as central to his passions, and Corey plans to fulfill his passion through education. He is the son of an educator, and uses the foundation his mother provided to realize his goals.

Corey sports an impressive résumé – holding positions as an English tutor and Teaching Assistant at Morehouse, conducting lectures in the areas of Philosophy and English. In addition to his in-class training, Corey is a leader on campus with his position as President of the Morehouse Education Association. With education as his tool, Corey looks to provide educational assistance to others, noting that "enlightening my students is more important than research."

Aside from the academy, Corey is a sociable person who has a laundry list of interests especially regarding music. He has been a part of gospel groups as well as Spelman College's Praise Team. Sociability allows Corey to touch multiple lives through various avenues, and this will no doubt be beneficial in his career as an "enlightener."

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Lauren Barnes

Jane of all trades who is bridging the gap between so many different worlds

By Kevin Morris and Khadeidra Billingsley

Thirteen times. That is how many times Lauren Barnes used the word “diversity” while she was giving a brief overview of her life and motivations. As a Polish and African American woman, Lauren’s biracial identity played a significantly large role in her decision to link the literary and scientific realms and become a double major in English and Geobiology at Pennsylvania State University. Amazing, right?

In a moving -- literally -- discussion of the tragic mulatto, Lauren presents in-depth knowledge concerning this particular fictional character’s plight with self-identity. She tells of how, during her childhood, “color was never an issue;” it was not until she became a young adult when she realized that others would use her racial identity, which many cannot identify, as a way to determine what kind of person she is. Unlike the tragic mulatto, Lauren is able to exist confidently and comfortably as a biracial individual and be proud.

Her passion for so many different subjects, including literature, spoken word, and the environment, motivates her to tackle the world and its problems one discipline at a time. “Communication is central to any change that we can foresee,” she says. Thus far, as is apparent by her enthusiasm, Lauren is a great medium through which this communication is occurring.


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Khadeidra Billingsley

By Mykesha Jackson and Courtnee Fenner

The sun never beams as brightly as Khadeidra Billingsley’s smile. An English major from Clark Atlanta University and the eldest of three siblings, Khadeidra is accustomed to juggling academics and family. Being from all corners of the U.S., Khadeidra -- a military child -- can adapt to any situation effortlessly.

In a generation that’s oftentimes superficial, Khadeirdra has a nice, groovy soulfulness that’s graceful and embracing. “I’ve always felt I was put on this earth for the purpose of others,” says Khadeidra behind a coy smile. She plans to fulfill her life's purpose by becoming a college professor and educating others.

Khadeidra has taken advantage of financial and academic resources afforded to her, and she wishes to share that with her students. “I want to teach resourcefulness and help my students find avenues that others don’t seek out.” With such a nurturing and giving spirit, Khadeidra’s sure to touch lives.

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Courtnee Fenner

By Lauren Barnes and Mykesha Jackson

Blending into the crowd is not something that fits Courtnee Fenner’s creative style. Her warmth can be felt before she ever speaks her kind words. Exuding confidence, passion and style, her quiet confidence radiates from within.

As a senior at Dillard University with a dual major in English and Spanish, she uses her strong love for the written word to write and create. But her passion and unique style are not confined to her pen and paper. Creativity is in everything she does; from her distinctive clothing to her enthusiasm for Japanese haiku, she is not afraid to let the world know that Courtnee Fenner has arrived.

With a strong commitment to civic engagement, Courtnee gives an extensive amount of her time to further educational efforts in African American communities. Through participating in a mentoring program in New Orleans, Courtnee works to instill the value of education among young people. Courtnee’s giving spirit leaves an indelible impression upon everyone she meets, as her leadership fully embodies the essence of true service.

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Transformations of a course packet

The course packets went from this:

to this:

to this:

to the Fellows:

 
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Sonja Lanehart, The AALCI Book Benefactor

Sonja Lanehart looking through the course packet with AALCI Fellows

In addition to meeting with Fellows each year, Sonja Lanehart, UTSA Brackenridge Endowed Chair in Literature and the Humanities, has utilized a portion of her funds associated with her professorship to purchase the books for the Institute. In the past, she has gotten the Fellows copies of Toni Morrison's Sula, Colson Whitehead's The Intuitionist, and last year and this year, she purchased, at our request, copies of The Black Book for all the participants. The students and I are of course quite appreciative.

Last year, Lanehart funded the AALCI book collection, which includes:

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Crave Radiance by Elizabeth Alexander
Nat Turner by Kyle Baker
Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins
The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual by Harold Cruse
The Souls of Black Folks by W.E.B. DuBois
Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade edited by David Etlis and David Richardson
Words of Fire edited by Beverly Guy-Sheftall
Killing Rage by bell hooks
The Art of Choosing by Sheena Iyengar
Leadbelly by Tyehimba Jess
Body and Soul by Alondra Nelson
The Oxford Anthology of African American Poetry edited Arnold Rampersad
The new black by Evie Shockley
More than Just Race by William Julius Wilson
The Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter G. Woodson
Dear Darkness by Kevin Young

AALCI Fellows selected books from the AALCI Collection

 Yesterday during a tour of the campus, Joycelyn Moody and I had the Fellows stop by her office and check out two books from the AALCI library. They expressed a genuine delight pursuing, discussing, and selecting titles to keep for a few days. I'm looking forward to our follow-up discussion.  

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2013 AALCI Reading materials

2013 Fellows looking over course packets

In between writing assignments and workshops and GRE prep, the Fellows and I will cover several different materials this summer. We'll read and discuss everything from Michelle Alexander, Gwendoyln Brooks, and Malcolm Gladwell to the Black Panther Party's Platforms and Colson Whitehead's reflections on watching horror movies. 

What follows are a list of what we'll cover:

• Alexander, Michelle. from The New Jim Crow
• Anderson, Elijah. "Emmett and Trayvon"
• Bambara, Toni Cade. From The Black Woman: An Anthology
• Black Panther Party Platforms 1966 & 1972
• Black poetry packet
• Black poetry: A timeline, 1854 - 2013
• Combahee River Collective Statement
• Diagram of the Slave ship Brooks 
• DuBois, W. E. B. “On Being Crazy.”
• -----, Tom Pomplun, and Kyle Baker. “On Being Crazy.”
• Fryer, Roland. “Acting White”
• Gladwell, Malcolm. "Creation Myth"
• -----. "Small Change"
• -----. "The Tweaker"
• Harris, Trudier. “Black Nerds”
• Johnson, Charles. "The Transmission"
• Keywords List
• Knight, Keith. from Are We Feeling Safer Yet?
• Longman, Phillip. “To Live Longer, Move to a New Zip Code”
• Malcolm X “Message to the Grassroots”
• McGruder, Aaron. Aaron. from A Right to Be Hostile
• Middleton, Harris. The Black Book
• Morrison, Toni. “Behind the Making of the Black Book"
• Nelson, Alondra. "Afrofuturism: Past Future Vision"
• Patton, Stacey. "Black Studies: 'Swaggering Into the Future"
• Randall, Alice. "Black Women and Fat"
• Rediker, Marcus From The Slave Ship: A Human History
• Reed, Ishmael. "Flight to Canada"
• Rooks, Noliwe. "Do Black Women Really Want to Be Fat?"
• Rose, Tricia. From The Hip Hop Wars
• Sawyer, Keith. From Explaining Creativity
• Schuessler, Jennifer. “Drug Policy as Race Policy”
• Shenk, David. “The 32 Million Word Gap”
• Trethewey, Natasha. “Native Guard.”
• Whitehead, Colson. "A Psychotronic Childhood: Learning from B-movies"
• Wilson, William J. "The Economic Plight of Inner-City Black Males"

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