Zandria Robinson
Zandria Robinson PhD | |
|---|---|
 Robinson in 2019 | |
| Born | Zandria Felice Robinson June 11, 1982 |
| Occupation(s) | Scholar, writer |
| Spouse(s) | Marco Pavé, m. 2018 |
| Children | 2 |
| Academic background | |
| Education | University of Memphis, BA Northwestern University, PhD |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Sociologist |
| Sub-discipline | Racial politics, Black American culture, the American south |
| Institutions | Georgetown University |
| Website | https://newsouthnegress.com/ |
Zandria Felice Robinson[1] (born June 11, 1982)[1][2] is an American writer and scholar. Her work focuses on popular music, ethnography, and race and culture in the American south. She is the author of two books: This Ain't Chicago: Race, Class, and Regional Identity in the Post-Soul South (2014) and Chocolate Cities: The Black Map of American Life (2018). Robinson is an associate professor of African-American studies at Georgetown University.[3][4]
Early life and education
[edit]Robinson was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised in the city's East Whitehaven Park neighborhood.[2] She received her bachelor's degree and master's degree in sociology from University of Memphis, and later received her doctoral degree in sociology from Northwestern University.[2]
Career
[edit]Robinson returned to Memphis after receiving her degree to work briefly as an adjunct at University of Memphis. She then worked for three years as a tenure-track professor at University of Mississippi. Robinson then returned to University of Memphis, where she remained for six years.[5] In 2015, she accepted a position at Rhodes College.[6] She joined the faculty at Georgetown University as an associate professor in the department of African-American studies in 2019.[7]
Robinson's first book, titled This Ain't Chicago: Race, Class, and Regional Identity in the Post-Soul South, was published in 2014 by UNC Press.[8][9] The book uses interviews with African Americans who live in Memphis and "critiques ideas of black identity constructed through a northern lens and situates African Americans as central shapers of contemporary southern culture."[10] She received the Eduardo Bonilla-Silva Award for the book.[11]
Her second book, co-authored with Marcus Anthony Hunter, is called Chocolate Cities: The Black Map of American Life.[12][13] Published in 2018 by University of California Press, the authors "present an alternative cartography of the United States, a "Black map" — showing how Black people and culture have shaped what we know as American culture".[2]
She is a contributor to the 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby.[14]
Twitter statements and mistaken firing
[edit]In 2015, Robinson received backlash over her tweets related to white students' perceptions that Black college students are admitted due to their race, and statements related to criticism of the Confederate flag.[15][16] The story was picked up by conservative media outlets such as The Daily Caller and many people called for her to be fired.[17] Shortly after, the University of Memphis tweeted that Robinson was no longer employed at the university.[15] The statement led many to believe she had been dismissed.[16] In response, over 100 Black scholars circulated a letter that "argue[d] that black scholars are at particular risk right now, when campuses are rife with heightened surveillance by disgruntled students and administrators unwilling or unable to go to bat for faculty."[17] It was later announced that Robinson had already accepted a position at another university, which the University of Memphis had not stated in their initial tweet.[17][18]
Personal life
[edit]Robinson married artist and musician Marco Pavé in 2018. She has two children: Assata (born 2009), a daughter from a previous relationship; and Jordan (born 2014), a son with Pavé.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Robinson, Zandria F." at Library of Congress Linked Data Service.
- ^ a b c d e Fogle, Anna Traverse (2018-03-05). "Diamonds & Chocolate". Memphis magazine. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ Robinson, Zandria F. (2014). This ain't Chicago : race, class, and regional identity in the post-soul South. Chapel Hill. ISBN 978-1-4696-1424-3. OCLC 871037814.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "'Chocolate Cities' Draws New Maps of Black American Life". PopMatters. 2018-03-12. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
- ^ "Zeezus Does the Firing 'Round Hurr". New South Negress. 2015-07-02. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ "Fitting Memphis Into The Southern Narrative". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ "Georgetown University Faculty Directory". gufaculty360.georgetown.edu. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
- ^ Borger, Michael Ian. "This Ain't Chicago. Race, Class, and Regional Identity in the Post-Soul South By Zandria F. Robinson". City & Community. 94: e98 – via Wiley.
- ^ Tolnay, Stewart E. (June 2016). "This Ain't Chicago. Race, Class, and Regional Identity in the Post-Soul South By Zandria F. Robinson University of North Carolina Press. 2014. 238 pages. $29.95 paper". Social Forces. 94 (4): e98. doi:10.1093/sf/sou112. ISSN 0037-7732.
- ^ "This Ain't Chicago | Zandria F. Robinson". University of North Carolina Press. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ Quinn, Molly. "The Essential Black, Southern, Woman Writer Who You Need to Know". Lenny Letter. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ Meghji, Ali (April 2019). "Chocolate Cities: The Black Map of American Life". Sociology of Race and Ethnicity. 5 (2): 305–306. doi:10.1177/2332649219827829. ISSN 2332-6492. S2CID 189074929.
- ^ Winant, Howard (2019-02-17). "Notes on chocolate cities". Ethnic and Racial Studies. 42 (3): 439–442. doi:10.1080/01419870.2019.1536276. ISSN 0141-9870. S2CID 150151791.
- ^ Hayden, Sally (2019-03-16). "New Daughters of Africa review: vast and nuanced collection". The Irish Times.
- ^ a b Jaschik, Scott (2015-07-01). "The Professor Who Wasn't Fired". www.insidehighered.com. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
- ^ a b Thomason, Andy (2015-07-01). "How One Professor's Tweets Got Her Fired — or So It Seemed at First". The Chronicle of Higher Education Blogs: The Ticker. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
- ^ a b c McClain, Dani (2015-07-14). "Why 100 Black Intellectuals Rallied Behind This Professor". The Nation. ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ "Dr. Zandria Robinson takes position at Rhodes College". WREG.com. 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Faculty biography on Georgetown.edu
- 1982 births
- Living people
- African-American women academics
- American women academics
- 21st-century African-American academics
- 21st-century American academics
- Writers from Memphis, Tennessee
- American sociologists
- American women sociologists
- University of Memphis alumni
- Northwestern University alumni
- Georgetown University faculty
- 21st-century African-American women writers
- 21st-century American women writers
- 20th-century African-American academics
- 20th-century American academics
- 20th-century African-American women
- 21st-century African-American writers
- African-American sociologists