Articles & Publications

Talks & Presentations

Invited Talks and Panels

“Humor as A Coping Mechanism in African American Culture.” Turner African American Services Council, University of Michigan School of Medicine. Keynote Address. Remote via Zoom. October 2023.

“I Got My Peaches Down in Georgia: Foodways and Sexuality in the American South.” Keynote Address. Women’s & Gender Studies Symposium. Georgia College & State University. March 2023.

“My Peaches Down in Georgia & Man Catching Beignets: Foodways & Sexuality in the South.” Keynote Address. Louisiana Folklore Society Annual Meeting. March 2023. 

“Savory or Sweet: Mardi Gras Foodways and the Boudin and Bread Pudding King Cake.” Invited Lecture. The Center for the Study of the Gulf South. University of Southern Mississippi-Gulf Park. March 2023.

“Grandmother’s Wisdom.” Tracing the Stream Virtual Symposium. Sponsored by the Brown Chair in Literacy. University of Arkansas. October 2022.  

“On Their Own: Intersectionality, Signifying, and A Black Lady Sketch Show.” University of St. Thomas (Minneapolis, MN). Invited Lecture. Office of Diversity and Inclusion Services. February 2022.

“Black Language & Music.” Lift Every Voice and Sing Grant. Partnership with Fayetteville Public Library-Invited Panelist. Remote via Zoom. February 2021.

 “A Whole Mood: Unpacking Beyonce’s Black is King.” Arkansas Arts & Fashion Forum-Invited Panelist. Remote via Zoom. October 2020.

“The Black Collegian in the Popular Imagination.” Missouri Southern State University. (Keynote Address) November 2019.

“That’s a Good One: Race, Resistance, & the Politics of Humor.” (Invited Lecture). Ithaca College. Ithaca, NY, April 2015.

Conference Presentations

“A Taste of Nostalgia: The Ubiquitous Candy Landy in African American Communities.” American Folklore Society. Virtual Conference. October 2023.

“From the Vibranium Mines to the Farthest Sector: Afrofuturism, Africanfuturism, and Comics.” Roundtable Participant. International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts. Orlando, FL, March 2033.

“‘Reema’s Boy and Wangero’: Cultural Workers in African American Literature and the Trope of the Educated Fool.” American Folklore Society. Baltimore, MD, October 2019.

“Designing Courses: Syllabi, Teaching, and Leadership” (Co Presenter). College Language Association. Raleigh, NC, April 2019.

“Serving the Spirits: Nalo Hopkinson & the Afro Futurist Heroine.” Art History & Afrofuturism Course. University of Arkansas. (Guest Lecture) March 2019.

“Hoop Dreams: The Black Student Athlete in the Popular Imagination.” College Language Association. Chicago, IL, April 2018.

“Discursive Fake Outs: Jay-Z, Illuminati Rumors, and the Wealthy Black Man Archetype.” Modern Language Association Convention. New York, NY, January 2018. *Accepted, did not present due to winter snowstorm.

“Beyoncé and Black Feminism.” Pedagogy Lunch Series, English Department. University of Arkansas. November 2017.

“In Memorium: Prince and the Elegiac Meme.” American Folklore Society. Minneapolis, MN, October 2017.

“I F***ed Hip Hop: The Black Woman as Metaphor in Hip Hop Odes.” (Panel Organizer & Presenter). College Language Association. Columbia, MO, April 2017.

“Old Wine in New Glasses: Blues Women’s Humor in the Lyrics of Lil Kim and Nicki Minaj.” American Folklore Society. New Orleans, LA, October 2012.