Dissertation Topic

In my dissertation, I am looking at the rhetoric of Black women politicians. My project will present case studies of five elected women who challenged the perceived political obstacles of race AND gender and created bold womanist politics. As no Black woman has yet to obtain our highest national office, the presidency, my dissertation will also take up one appointed politician, Condoleezza Rice, who has gained one of the highest political positions in the US, and consequently one of the most recognized positions in the world. Partisanship and political ideology aside, my dissertation will investigate how these women articulate what is true to them, even when they are seen as political outsiders/marginalized voices. My focus on Black women in politics is motivated by my long term interests in Black women political activists and the study of American public address, a field that has almost completely ignored the voices of Black women and people of color. Since I was an undergraduate, I have been invested in the work of recovering and recauperating the voices of Black women. But as one of my committee members likes to say, I always know what texts I want to study or which women I want to focus on, but I struggle at times to find my argument. I just like to tell stories—love to recover parts of my history and make it compelling for a wider audience. But I’m looking for focus in my arguments for this dissertation—after all—I need to graduate.

(Excerpt #1 from my writing today)