In Media Res

Race, Identity, and Pop Culture in the Twenty-First Century

James Braxton Peterson (Ed.)

2015
318 pages
ISBN 9781611486490
The Griot Project Book Series

In Media Res is a manifold collection that reflects the intersectional qualities of university programming in the twenty-first century. Taking race, gender, and popular culture as its central thematic subjects, the volume collects academic essays, speeches, poems, and creative works that critically engage a wide range of issues, including American imperialism, racial and gender discrimination, the globalization of culture, and the limitations of our new multimedia world. This diverse assortment of works by scholars, activists, and artists models the complex ways that we must engage university students, faculty, staff, and administration in a moment where so many of us are confounded by the "in medias res" nature of our interface with the world in the current moment. Featuring contributions from Imani Perry, Michael Eric Dyson, Suheir Hammad, John Jennings, and Adam Mansbach, In Media Res is a primer for academic inquiry into popular culture; American studies; critical media literacy; women, gender, and sexuality studies; and Africana studies.

Order here

Reviews

"Peterson brings together an amazing group of scholars, who collectively grapple with issues of race, identity, media, and
popular culture. In Media Res embodies a scholarly cypher, whereupon each brilliant contribution elevates the other, challenging each of us to step up our game, to expand the intellectual horizons, and to push the scholarly conversation toward real change. Instructive and engaging, this work bridges the scholarly and educational missions, the traditions of literary theory and hip-hop, and the cultural
productions and ongoing struggles for inclusion, each of which are transforming America's colleges and universities in profound ways."
- David Leonard, Washington State University

About the editor:

James Braxton Peterson is associate professor of English and director of Africana studies at Lehigh University.

Distributed by Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group

Paperback: 9781611486513; eBook: 9781611486506