"You are a servant of the people you research; the purpose of your research is never to serve its own good but serve larger society. when you find something to be more dysfunctional than functional, you have the responsibility to root it out."
- Dr. Sonja Peterson-Lewis
Associate Professor, Department of Africology and Africana Studies, Temple University
Associate Professor, Department of Africology and Africana Studies, Temple University
Recent Articles
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September 2, 2016
Post Traumatic Growth with Black Males who Experience Racial Trauma Written by Serie McDougal With new investigations of police-induced trauma, researchers tend to want to move toward discussing solutions—which is no doubt important. However, there are very few investigations that move beyond discussing the need for solutions such as healing, to actually explaining the very processes for healing. Conjure: Survival of African Religious Structure, Part 3.2-Dance Written by Paul Easterling Usually, the voice and body are used in tandem (when one sings another dances) which magnifies the power of conjure. However, dance stands alone as a powerful pharmacopeia that is used to maintain solidarity in continental and diasporic African communities. |
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August 8, 2016
Cultural Relevance in Research is Not Just an Added Extra, It's a Question of Validity Written by Serie McDougal Assumptions of universal validity are increasingly in doubt in light of cultural variation (Persson, 2012). Increased interaction between people of diverse cultural backgrounds, not only makes cultural sensitivity critical to the research process, but cultural competence has become all the more imperative. |
Books
Marquita Gammage's book, Representations of Black Women in the Media: The Damnation of Black Womanhood, highlights how Black women have been negatively portrayed in the media, focusing on the export nature of media and its ability to convey notions of Blackness to the public. It argues that media such as rap music videos, television dramas, reality television shows, and newscasts create and affect expectations of Black women. Exploring the role that racism, misogyny and media play in the representation of Black womanhood, it provides a foundation for challenging contemporary media’s portrayal of Black women.
Serie McDougal's book, Research Methods in Africana Studies, is the only research methods text in the discipline of Africana Studies. The text includes a variety of important methods of data collection that have been used in research about Africana populations. Serie McDougal is the recipient of the 2014 "Best Scholarly Book" Award at the 26th Annual Cheikh Anta Diop Conference in Philadelphia in October. This award recognizes definitive contributions to the discipline of Africana Studies. McDougal also received the inaugural Cheikh Anta Diop and Ida B. Wells award for distinguished scholarship at the National Council for Black Studies, 2016 for this text.
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