DAVID M. JONES
2426 Peterson Avenue South
Eau Claire, WI 54703
(715) 833-8521
EDUCATION:
University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Ph.D. in English Language and Literature (June 2000)
Minor in African Diaspora Studies
Adviser: Dr. Maria Damon
Dissertation: A New Breed of Black Consciousness: Re-reading Gender, Ideology,
and Generational Change in Neo-Black Literature and Cultural Criticism,
1965-1975
University of Nevada (Las Vegas, Nevada)
M.A. in English Language and Literature (May 1990)
Concentration in Composition and Creative Writing
Thesis: First Cousins (a novel)
University of Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa)
B.A. in English and Secondary Education (May 1985)
Minor: Speech Communication
RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS:
African American Literature African Diaspora Studies
Black Arts Movement Race and Ethnicity in Public Policy
Genre Studies in Creative Nonfiction African Americans and the Counterculture
African American Feminist Rhetoric African-American Protest Movements
COURSES TAUGHT:
University of Minnesota (1995-2000) College of St. Catherine (1996-2001)
Introduction to Third World Literature Diversity, Democracy, and Social
Multicultural American Literature Participation
Survey of American Literature II/III Fairy Tales, Myths, and Legends
Survey of British Literature I/II/III Poetry and Everyday Life
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (2000-3)
Introduction to Black Writers Introduction to Theory and Criticism
Sexism in the 60s Honors Course: Black and White
American Literature Since 1945 Strangers
Seminar in the American Novel Women’s Studies: Black Women’s
Introduction to College Composition Feminisms
Black Superwomen and Black Macho in Graduate Course: Critical Theory in
Recent American Film English Studies
Minneapolis College of Art & Design (1997-2000)
Café Cultures and Social Change
Literature of Generation X
A Life in Art: Paul Robeson/June Jordan/James Baldwin
PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT:
Assistant Professor, English Department, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (2000-present)
Adjunct Assistant Professor, College of St. Catherine, Minneapolis, MN (1996-2001)
Instructor, Liberal Arts Department, Minneapolis College of Art and Design (1997-2000)
Special Assistant, Archie Givens, Sr. Collection of African American Literature
Wilson Library, Special Collections and Rare Books, University of
Minnesota (1998-1999)
Research Assistant, Spirited Minds and Strong Souls Singing, annotated bibliographies of
African American Literature (1995-1997)
Instructor, English Department, University of St. Thomas (1991-1995)
Coordinator and Academic Adviser, ACCESS Program, University of St. Thomas (1991-1995)
Secondary School Teacher, Clark County School District, Las Vegas, Nevada (1985-1989)
PUBLICATIONS:
“Textual Approaches to Revolutionary Poetry: a Reading of Resistance Metaphors in
Assata Shakur’s ‘The Tradition.’” Essay upcoming in Slipping Through the
Canebrake, anthology on new approaches to African American Poetry. Maxine
Sample, ed.
“Sonia Sanchez.” Essay upcoming in A Companion to 20th Century American Poetry.
Published by Facts on File, Inc. Burt Kimmelman, editor.
“William Jennings Bryan.” Essay upcoming in the Dictionary of Literary Biography.
Edition on Radical Reformers. Published by Gale Research Group, edition on Radical
Reformers. Steven Rosendale, editor.
“To Be Young, Countercultural, and Black.” Essay published in 2002 in Growing Up
Postmodern, an anthology of essays about youth culture after 1945. Editors for the
text are Henry Giroux and Ron Strickland.
“Women’s Lib, Gender Theory, and the Politics of Home.” Published in the journal
Feminist Teacher, Fall 2001 issue.
“Globalizing a Black Nation: Pan-African Discourse in African American Cultural Criticism,
1960-1970.” Published in the Red River Conference on World Literature Proceedings,
November 1999.
Strong Souls Singing. Served as a research assistant for this annotated bibliography of texts
focused on the lives of African American females. Published by W.W. Norton in 1998.
Archie Givens, Editor.
“Little Man Tito.” Review of The Pasteboard Bandit by Arna Bontemps and Langston Hughes.
Hungry Mind Review, Spring 1998: 46-7.
“Civil protest against an uncivil system.” Review of The Children by David Halberstam.
Minnesota Daily, April 9, 1998: 1.
Spirited Minds. Contributed extensive writing and research for this annotated bibliography of
texts focused on the lives of African American males. Credited in the text as writer.
Text published by W.W. Norton in 1997. Archie Givens, Editor.
“Racial deconstruction.” Review of Technical Difficulties: African-American Notes on the State
of the Union by June Jordan. Minnesota Daily, January 28, 1993: 15-16.
“In his own words: Malcolm X.” Review of February 1965: The Final Speeches by Malcolm X.
Minnesota Daily, March 11, 1993: 19.
MANUSCRIPTS AND GRANTS CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW:
A New Breed of Black Consciousness: Re-reading Gender, Ideology, and Generational Change
in Neo-Black Literature and Cultural Criticism, 1965-1975. This manuscript provides a contextual history and close reading of texts by African American authors during the Black Arts and Black Power periods. It is adapted from my Ph.D. dissertation, and has been reviewed by University Press of Mississippi. Revision and resubmission is pending.
GRANTS AWARDED:
Black Celebrity, Urban Masculinity, and the Life of Sly Stone. Research examined the life and
career of Sylvester Stewart, leader of Sly and the Family Stone, with close attention to
the representations of urban black musicians as “hustler figures. This student/faculty
research grant was awarded by the UWEC Office of University Research in summer
2002, and research on this topic continues.
African American Music in the Upper Midwest: Music Performance, Student-Run Radio, and
Cultural Change. Grant provided to examine the history of African American music in the Upper Midwest and to develop a series of three radio programs on the subject for broadcast on WUEC. Faculty/Student Research Collaboration Grant awarded by the Office of University Research in February 2002.
Slide Resource Development for English 148 and 343. This grant was awarded by the UWEC
Office of University Research in December, 2000 to help create images for use in my
Introduction to Black Writers and American Literature Since 1945 courses. The
slides produced included images of visual art, architecture, and popular culture
from the late 19th and 20th century.
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS:
“Urban Pathology and the Country Ghost: Blues and Rural Black Males in Contemporary Film”
To be presented at the MMLA 2003 Conference, Chicago, Illinois, November 2003.
“Celebrity, Urban Black Masculinity, and the Life of Sly Stone.” Presented at the
national conference sponsored by the Experience Music Project in Seattle
Washington, April 10-13, 2003. Eliza Mbughini, undergraduate researcher for
ORSP-funded research on Sly Stone, also plans to attend.
“Privileging the Popular at What Price: Identity Politics, Black Popular Culture, and Joan
Morgan’s When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost.” Presented at the MMLA
Convention in Minneapolis, November 8, 2002.
“Bondage, Solidarity, and Human Justice: Captivity Narratives and the Living Legacy of the
Black Arts Movement.” Presented at the Rhetoric Society of America national
conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, in May 2002.
“Misogyny and Savage Masculinity: Chester Himes, Post World War II America, and Black
Criminality.” Presented at the Midwest Modern Language Association annual
conference in Cleveland, Ohio, November 2, 2001.
“Blacks, Greeks, and Freaks: Othering as Cultural Critique in Peyton Place.” Presented at the
American Culture Association Conference in Philadelphia, April 12, 2001.
“Cultural Authenticity and Beauty Myth in Contemporary African American Romantic Fiction.”
Presented at the Northeast Modern Language Association Conference, March 31, 2001.
“To Be Young, Countercultural, and Black.” Presented at the Growing Up Postmodern
conference at Illinois State University, October 8, 1999.
Chair, “Nostalgia/Memory” session. International Association for the Study of Popular Music
conference, Middle Tennessee State University, October 1, 1999.
“Globalizing a Black Nation: Pan-African Discourse in African American Cultural Criticism,
1960-1970.” Presented at the Red River Conference on World Literature at North Dakota State University, April 24, 1999.
“You Don’t Know Me: a Black Male Feminist Meditation on Matriarchy and Motherhood.”
Presented at the Midwest Sociological Association annual conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 8, 1999.
“Gendering the New Black Consciousness: Constructions of Black Masculinity in Post-WWII
Cultural Criticism.” Presented at an interdisciplinary conference, Identity, Ethnicity, Origins, at the State University of New York at Binghamton, March 6, 1999.
“Africentric Mythology and Gendered Resistance in Daughters of the Dust and Malcolm X.”
Film analysis presented at the National Association of Ethnic Studies annual conference,
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, March 21, 1997.
“Race, Ethnicity, and Television Advertising: a Study of Audience Reactions to Commercial
Advertising during Super Bowl 30.” Presented at an interdisciplinary conference,
African American Experience of the Great Plains, University of Nebraska, February 21,
1997.
“Blues and Cultural Authenticity: a Textual Analysis of Three Blues Songs.” Presented at the
Midlands Conference on Language and Literature at Creighton University in Omaha,
Nebraska, March 16, 1996.
PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS, BROADCASTS, AND MEDIA APPEARANCES:
“Jazz and Beyond.” Serving as coordinator and contributing producer for a 13-part radio series
on the history of jazz and blues in the United States. Program was initiated by an ORSP
grant for student/faculty collaboration. Supervised 6-person production team for the
radio series. Program broadcast during spring and summer 2003, Sunday nights
from 6-8 in the evening.
“Black History Month and Public Scholarship: Teaching at UWEC at a Time of Crisis.”
Presentation given to the Putnam Hall Residence Council in the residence lounge,
February 20, 2003.
Collegial guest appearance for Asha Sen in her English 290 course: Images of Women. Focus
of presentation was the history of African American feminism. Presented on February
14, 2003.
“First Fridays.” Presentation given on Sly and the Family Stone and their relation
to social change in the 1960s/1970s. Presentation given on February 7, 2003.
“Miles Davis and Paul Robeson.” Series of four Black History Month presentations
presented at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library on February 3, 10,
17, and 24, 2003.
Departmental Colloquium on Ethnic Studies. Panelists included Debra Barker, David Shih,
and Stephanie Sievers describing their work in ethnic studies, and I served as host.
Special guest was John O’Neal, artistic director for the Free Southern Theater, and
visiting scholar for the Artist Series. Panel presented Tuesday, February 4, 2003.
“Nature and the City: Drama, Poetry, and Music.” Performance of urban and rural folk
songs at the Festival of the Turning Leaves, L.E. Phillips Library, October 14,
2002.
“Aspiring Spirit.” Contributed through interview remarks to the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram
article written by Thomas P. Schlagel on the history and viability of the American
Dream. Article published on June 30, 2002.
“The Evolution of Jazz.” Produced and hosted pilot radio program on the history of jazz
and blues in the United States. Program was developed initially through an ORSP grant,
and was broadcast on WUEC radio on May 1, 2002.
“Chicken Head Envy: What is Black Feminism?” Panel presentation with Selika
Ducksworth-Lawton on modern black feminism. Presented March 19, 2002
in the Hibbard Hall Penthouse.
UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY SERVICE:
WUEC 89.7 FM Advisory Board, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (2003-present)
University-wide GE Committee, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (2002-present).
Curriculum Committee, English Department, Univ. of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (2001-present).
Chair, Ad Hoc Committee on Content and Standards, English Department, UWEC
(2002).
Chair, Media Resources Committee, English Department, UWEC (2001-present).
Artist Series Advisory Committee, UWEC (2000-present)
Women’s Studies Program Advisory Committee, UWEC (2000-present)
Leland-Johnson Common Vision Program for Black/Jewish Relations (1999-2000).
Adult Education Committee, SASE: the Write Place (1997-1998).
Academic Preparation Program Advisory Committee, University of St. Thomas (1991-1995).
Chair, North Central Self-Study Subcommittee on Administration, Organization, and Human
Resources, University of St. Thomas (1992-1993)
Committee on Athletics and Academics, University of St. Thomas (1991-1993)