Recently, we were joined by Professor Jessica Edwards, English. She came by for a discussion about the applicability of ENGL413: Rhetoric, Race & Culture, a course that she teaches at the university, to the world outside the classroom.

In ENGL413: Rhetoric, Race & Culture, in Dr. Edwards’ words, student’s study systemic issues. Some of the topics discussed in the class are systems of oppression, how language is used to fuel these systems (Rhetorical Theories, to be exact) and their connection to culture as a whole. Edwards’ class does not solely discuss race; it also looks at a paradigm known as the matrix of domination, a term coined by Patricia Hill Collins, a distinguished professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. All of the -isms (Racism, Sexism, Classism, etc.) are intertwined and connected; therefore, diversity is inclusive of all the -isms.

We went on to discuss issues involving race and diversity in current events, such as Meryl Streep’s comment “We’re all Africans really,” Chauncey DeVega’s article “He was your average Joe,” and the #OscarsSoWhite controversy.

Listen to the Interview

Jessica Edwards, Recorded Feb. 26, 2016. Debut Mar. 17, 2016.
29:54
28.3 MB

Learn More

To learn more about the topics that we discussed, here are some of the links to the articles:

• “He was your average Joe”: The police and the media coddle another white killer
• Meryl Streep: “We’re all Africans really”
• Craig Steven Wilder’s  Ebony and Ivory: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America’s Universities (2013)