Vol. 38, No. 18

4-20-2004
By: Jeff Grabmeier

Royster to give Distinguished Lecture May 5

African American women have used essays to help articulate their dreams of a better world and also conceive of plans to make this better world a reality. That is the theme of the University Distinguished Lecture by Jacqueline Jones Royster, professor of English and interim dean of the College of Humanities. The lecture will be at 4 p.m. May 5 in the Wexner Center Film/Video Theater. Royster’s lecture is titled “Utopian Desire and Radical Action in African American Women’s Essay Writing.”

The free, public lecture will be followed by a reception.

Royster will discuss how African Americans have dreamed of worlds of possibility that don’t exist but could, and how the lingering force of those dreams has helped to animate the ways in which they have habitually engaged in ethos formation for writing and action, especially with regard to their longstanding commitments to social reform.

Further, Royster will posit that the analytical framework, which permits us to see this rhetorical move, is shaped by a specific consideration of their uses of the essay to articulate a pattern of desire and radical action with the general goal of making a better world. To illustrate these points, Royster will use both 19th and 20th century African American women writers as she discusses utopian desire, social reform and radical action.

Royster has a two-fold research focus: the rhetorical history of women of African descent and the development of literacy. Her publications include five books (with one more in press: a co-edited volume Calling Cards: Theory and Practice in the Study of Race, Gender and Culture).

Among the honors and awards that Royster has received are: Ohio Pioneer in Education (for higher education) by the State of Ohio Department of Education (2000); Braddock Award (2000) from the Conference on College Composition and Communication for the best article in their journal, College Composition and Communication; Mina P. Shaughnessy Prize (2001) from the Modern Language Association’s in recognition of her book Traces of a Stream; University Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award (2002) from Ohio State; University Distinguished Lecturer (2003) from Ohio State; Exemplar Award (2004) from the Conference on College Composition and Communication; and the Woman of Achievement Award (2004) from the Young Women’s Christian Association of Columbus.

The University Distinguished Lecture Series was inaugurated in 1996 as one of the university’s highest honors for a senior faculty member. The lectureship is awarded in recognition of outstanding academic achievement, particularly, but not exclusively, in research, scholarship or creative activity. The President and Provost’s Advisory Committee reviews nominations and recommends candidates to the president and provost for final selection.

The Office of Academic Affairs presents an award of $5,000 to the distinguished lecturer to designate for a purpose that promotes the academic goals of the lecturer’s college and/or of the university. Royster has designated that her award should be used in support of graduate students in rhetoric and composition.
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