Research Interests
I am interested in investigating the intersections of race, religion, and violence within American and African American culture. Trained as a historian, I study the ways in which ritual, sacrifice, and ideas of the sacred have historically shaped ideas around race, violence, and movements of social-political change. Looking at the ways in which digital data bases and on-line community forums create virtual spaces of “lived” religions, which often reflect racial and violent themes are areas of my present interests.
Research Projects
Current
I have no current projects directly related to digital humanities at present but would be very interested in working with others to develop such projects in the near future.
Past
In the past, I was hired as a consultant for “Preserving the American Black Journal(ABJ): African-American History through Detroit’s People, Pictures, and Words.” As this job was in connection with Matrix, the Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences at Michigan State University, my job included reviewing a representative group of ABJ shows and contributing to the development of the project website. On-line cataloging, viewing of DVDs, and streaming media over the Internet were key components of the project.
I also received an Educational Technology Certificate in connection with Matrix’s Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences at Michigan State University. The program was designed to train educators how to utilize new technologies in their classrooms.
Teaching Projects
Current
I have no current projects at this time.
Past
Devloping and Introducing the ESP (English for Specific Purposes) emphasis of the M.A in English
