Articulating the Heuristic Value of African American Communication Studies

Abstract

In an effort to address the contemporary relevance of African American communication, this essay explores the impetus, heuristic value, foundational premises, and proliferation of this burgeoning field that has come to be known as African American Communication, by attending to two inextricable themes underlying much of African American Communication research: body politics and otherness.

Keywords:

• African American Communication
• African American Identity
• Body Politics
• Otherness
• Intercultural Communication

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Eletra S. Gilchrist

Eletra S. Gilchrist (Ph.D., University of Memphis) is Assistant Professor of Communication Studies in the Department of Communications Arts at University of Alabama Huntsville

Ronald L. Jackson

Ronald L. Jackson II (Ph.D., Howard University) is Professor and Head of the Department of African American Studies and Professor of Communication & Media at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign