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IDENTITY EFFECTS
by Ronald L. Jackson
My lines of research may be characterized as a coherent set of "identity effects" studies that seek to identify the consequences of a communicated self-definition and self-evolvement in a racially, culturally and gender sensitive social milieu. Within the discipline of communication, identity effects are discussed almost synonymously with identity negotiation. Among the battery of popular concepts are acculturation, accommodation, adaptation, cultural contact and conflict, as well as culture shock. Negotiating cultural identity suggests that people do not remain the same, but are in flux.
In order to understand my multifaceted research program, one must consider that cultural and racial identities are fluid, and therefore, cannot be studied statically. Consequently, I am interested in what happens when they moveto secure themselves, to accommodate or to adapt. In wanting to know what happens when cultural and racial identities are negotiated, I chose to narrow my purview to the following dialectical themes: theoretic and empirical explorations of identity negotiation, whiteness, blackness, and masculinity. The impetus for my research is my concern for how human interactants define, negotiate, and maintain who they are on an almost daily basis, and in some times subtle ways.
Each area of my research can be interpreted as a subset of identity effects in varying contexts. For example, the article on "So Real Illusions of Black Intellectualism" is a critique of the marginalization of racial identities in the academy. The articles concerning whiteness are systematic examinations of the identity effects resulting from defining whiteness in a diverse cultural context where being White usuallly (but not always) translates to mean privileged identities performed on a daily basis. The articles related to masculinity each propose that there are ontological effects attached to Black masculinities being socially pathologized and made invisible. These articles, as others appear in a variety of publication outlets including the International Journal of Intercultural Relations, Howard Journal of Communications, Journal of Communication, Communication Theory, and the International and Intercultural Communication Annual.
Several important and contributory ideas have been developed from my research. Each of these is relatively new, but visibly cutting edge areas of inquiry in communication research. For example, although whiteness research in communication has already examined self-labels, the results have suggested that Whites are unaware and aloof. My research concludes that while some Whites may be oblivious to racial privilege, there are also other Whites who are actively working toward social change and dissolution of racial disempowerment. The heuristic value of my work is that it theoretically reframes the discussion by introducing a new theory that suggests that white identities are "cultural contracts" negotiated in varying contexts with different degrees of latitude and acceptance of difference. The purpose of this new paradigm is to account for the full range of White identities and interactive choices leading to sustaining and/or dissolving privilege.
My work concerning masculinity also opens up the conversation on masculinity by discussing it as a culturally variegated range of masculinities, rather than a monolith. The contribution this area of my research makes is to facilitate understanding about how Black masculinities seek to liberate themselves and function in an oppressive social milieu. Likewise, my research concerning African American identity as evidenced in language and rhetorical patterns also adds a significant cultural dimension to extant rhetorical theory research.
Each of these rubrics juxtaposes a counter-identity that dialectically defines the identity in question. One example of this in my research is when White and Black masculinities are respectively defined as cultural property. All of these research strands require some exploration of White and/or Black identities in negotiation. They are all postmodern commentaries upon modern existence. I am convinced that the hallmark of quality research is what it does to facilitate understanding of lived experiences. Research for the sake of information is okay, but research for the sake of liberation truly advances humanity.
Selected List of Publications
Authored Books/Monographs
Jackson, R. L. (1999). The Negotiation of Cultural Identity. Westport, CT: Praeger Press.
Hecht, M. L., Jackson, R. L., & Ribeau, S. A. (2003). African American Communication: Exploring Identity and Culture. (2nd Edition). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. (Received the NCA African American Communication & Culture Division's 2003 Distinguished Scholarship Award)
Jackson, R. L. (in press). Scripting the Black Masculine Body: Intersections of Identity, Discourse and Racial Politics in Popular Media. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. (slated for Summer 2005 release date).
Jackson, R. L., & Brown Givens, S. (in press). Black Pioneers in Communication Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. (slated for Fall 2005 release date).
Edited Books
Richardson, E. & Jackson, R. L. (Eds.). (2004). African American Rhetoric(s): Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press.
Jackson, R. L. (Ed.). (2004). African American Communication and Identities: Essential Readings. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Jackson, R. L. & Richardson, E. (Eds.). (2003). Understanding African American Rhetoric: Classical origins to contemporary innovations. New York: Routledge.
(Received the 2004 National Communication Association African American Communication & Culture Division's Distinguished Book Award)
Refereed Journal Thematic Issues
Jackson, R. L. & Hendrix, K. (Eds.). (2003). THEME: Racial, Cultural, and Gendered Identities in Educational Contexts: Communication Perspectives on Identity Negotiation. {Double Thematic Issue}. Communication Education, 52(3/4), pp. 177-317.
Jackson, R. L. (Summer 2003). (Special Issue Editor). {First Part of Double Thematic Issue on Identity Negotiation}. THEME: Identity Negotiation: An exploration of racial, cultural and gendered identities. Communication Quarterly, 50(3&4).
Articles in Refereed Journals & Yearbooks
Jackson, R. L. (December 2004). African American Rhetoric: What it is in a sentence. Retorik Magasinet (popular scientific magazine in Denmark).
Jackson, R. L. (2004). Negotiating and Mediating Constructions of Racial Identities Review of Communication, 4(1/2), 6-15. (lead article)
Oliver, M. B., Jackson, R. L., Moses, N. & Dangerfield, C. (2004). The Face of Crime: Viewers' Memory of Black and White Facial Features of Individuals Pictured in the News. Journal of Communication, 54(1), 88-104.
Jackson, R. L. & Crawley, R. (2003). White Student Confessions about an African American male professor: A Cultural Contracts Theory approach to intimate conversations about race and worldview. Journal of Men's Studies, 12(1), 25-42.
Jackson, R. L. & Simpson, K. (2003). White Positionalities and Cultural Contracts: Critiquing Entitlement, Theorizing and Exploring the Negotiation of White Identities. In W. J. Starosta & G. M. Chen (Eds.), Ferment in the Intercultural Field (International and Intercultural Communication Annual, vol. 26), (pp. 319-326). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Onwumechili, C., Nwosu, P., Jackson, R. L. & James-Hughes, J. (2003). In the Deep Valley with Mountains to Climb: Exploring Identity and Multiple Reacculturation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 27, 41-62.
Jackson, R. L. (2002). Cultural Contracts Theory: Toward an understanding of identity negotiation. Communication Quarterly, 50(3&4), 359-367.
Tierney, S., & Jackson, R. L. (2002). Deconstructing Whiteness Ideology As a Set of Rhetorical Fantasy Themes: Implications for intercultural alliance building in the United States. In M. J. Collier (Ed.), Intercultural Alliances (International and Intercultural Communication Annual, vol. 25), (pp. 81-106). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Jackson, R. L. & Heckman, S. (2002). Perceptions of White Identity and White Liability: An Analysis of White Student Responses to a College Campus Racial Hate Crime. Journal of Communication, 52, 434-450.
Jackson, R. L. (2002). Exploring African American Identity Negotiation in the Academy: Toward a Transformative Vision of African American Communication
Scholarship. Howard Journal of Communication, 12(4), 43-57.
Jackson, R. L. (2000). Africalogical Theory Building: Positioning the Discourse. International and Intercultural Communication Annual, 22, 31-41. To be
Jackson, R. L. (February 1999). White Space, White Privilege: Mapping Discursive Inquiry into the Self. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 55(1), 1-17. Featured in Spectra (National Communication Association newsletter)
Jackson, R. L. (Winter 1999). Mommy, There's a Nigger at the Door: Personal Narratives, Anecdotes and Episodes of Race. Journal of Counseling & Development, 77(1), 4-7.
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