I'm a pro-Black, non-binary femme essayist, visual artist, and instructor.
My research field is contemporary Black speculative and experimental literature and visual culture, stemming from the late 19th century to the contemporary moment. I’m interested in concepts of speculation, utopia/dystopia, surrealism, death, and horror. In particular, I study how speculative and obscure literary and visual works build alternative worlds that are operated by an alternative grammar; they demonstrate different underlying assumptions, codes, signifiers, and ways of thinking/ communicating. I consider what is made possible (that seems impossible in our anti-Black reality) because of these alternative logics.
In my teaching, I encourage students to venture out of what they consider to be “rules” when they are creating their texts, written or otherwise. I do this so that we can focus more on the effectiveness of chosen rhetorical strategies in conveying our messages. I work to offer students a variety of creative and intellectual mediums so that we can come to a deeper, more pervasive understanding of the concepts we seek to engage with. Therefore, I practice and encourage multimodal and multidisciplinary composition.
I’m open to collaborating with other artists, researchers, organizations, etc., who feel like we have complementary goals and missions. Please visit my personal website to see my portfolio.