Dr. Debra C. Smith is Associate Professor of Africana Studies. Her research and teaching interest include Health and Environment, Medical Humanities, African-Americans in communication and popular culture, minority images in the media.
Education:
- Ph.D., University North Carolina-Greensboro
- M.A., University North Carolina-Charlotte
- M.A., East Carolina University
- B.A., University North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Areas of Interest:
- African-Americans in Communication and Popular Culture
- Minority Images in Media
- Medical Humanities
- Health and Environment
- Teaching Strategies utilizing Popular Culture
- Media Literacy
Books:
Legacies: African American Female Pioneers. Cognella Press, 2019
The Words Unspoken: The Hidden Power of Language, Carolina Academic Press, 2008, 142pp (ISBN-10: 1-59460-174-7. ISBN-13: 978-1-59460-174-3)
Recent Publications:
(In Press) Debra C. Smith and Julia Jordan Zachary. “I Woke up Feeling Bad”: Black Studies and a Pedagogy of Emotion. Negro Journal of Education.
(In Press) Debra C. Smith, Black Greek Step Shows. In African Battle Traditions of Insult: Africana Verbal Arts, Song-Poetry, and Performance edited by Tanure Ojaide. Palgrave Macmillan Academic Press. ISBN 978-3-031-15616-8
(In press) Davis, J. Joy and Debra C. Smith. Heavy is the head that wears the crown: A Manifestation of Black Girl Magic. In Mamas, Martyrs, and Jezebels: Myths, Legends, and Other Lies You’ve Been Told about Black Women. Edited by Abayomi Animashaun, Black Lawrence Press, 2023.
(2021) Smith, Debra C., James, C. D., & Griffiths, M. A. Co-brand partnerships making space for the next black girl: Backlash in social justice branding. Psychology & Marketing, 38(12) pp. 2314-2236. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21566
Orbe, Mark, Debra C. Smith, Christopher R. Groscurth & Rex L. Crawley. “Exhaling So That We Can Catch Our Breath and Sing: Reflections on Issues Inherent in Publishing Race-related Communication Research.” Southern Journal of Communication 75 (2); (2010) 184 – 194.
“Critiquing Reality-Based Televisual Black Fatherhood: A Critical Analysis of Run’s House and Snoop Dogg’s Fatherhood.” Critical Studies in Media Communications. 25(4): (2008) 393-412.
“Of Brutal Necessity: Rap Music and Black Language. ” Making Connections: Journal for Teachers of Cultural Diversity, Vol, 10, No. 3. (2008) 41-62.
Smith, Robert and Debra C. Smith (2009) “The Wire: Media Placement and Postindustrial Landscapes” (pp. 73-93). In Zachery Williams (ed) Africana Cultures and Policy Studies: Scholarship and the Transformation of Public Policy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan (Series Editors: Manning Marable and Peniel Joseph).
“Reading, Writing and Watching TV: The Pedagogy of the Pre-Schooler: A Case Study in Teaching Media Literacy” (2009): pp 173-189. In Marcus Leaning (ed) Issues in Information and Media Literacy: Education, Practice and Pedagogy. Santa Rosa: Informing Science Press.
“Popularizing Folklore in the Age of Text-messaging Millenials.” Folklore Journal, Volume 118, Issue 1, April 2007, Routledge Publishers, (2007) pp 91-99.
“Cartoon Culture: How Maya and Miguel Exceed Beyond the 1990 Children’s Television Act. “Wilson, Leslie (ed) Readings in Popular Culture. Press Americana: The Institute for the Study of Popular Culture, November 2006, pp 105-112.
Current Projects:
- Dear Charles: The North Carolina That Black Women Built
- Soul Labor: Putting soul work into course work
Courses Taught:
- AFRS 2105 – Black Images in the Media
- AFRS 2170 – Health and Environment in the Africana World
- AFRS 3290 – Research Methods
- AFRS 3050 – African Americans and Education
- AFRS 1100 – Introduction to Africana Studies
- LBST 2102 – Minorities in the Media