Jacqueline Jones Royster is an American academic, author, and scholar of

rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

literacy Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

, and

cultural studies Cultural studies is an academic field that explores the dynamics of contemporary culture (including the politics of popular culture) and its social and historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers investigate how cultural practices rel ...

. She is a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the former Dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Education and career

Royster earned a B.A. in English from

Spelman College Spelman College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia ...

in 1970. She has a D.A. (1975) and an M.A. (1971) in English and Linguistics from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. Royster taught English at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

and

. In 2010, she moved to Georgia Tech, where she served as Dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts until 2019. She has held several leadership roles, including the 1995 Chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication.

Professional contributions

Royster's research focuses mostly on African-American women and civil rights. Two of her books are ''Traces of a Stream: Literacy and Social Change among African-American Women'' and ''Southern Horrors and Other Writings: The Anti-Lynching Campaign of Ida B. Wells, 1892-1900''. She was a co-editor for ''Reader's Choice''. She also co-edited ''Calling Cards: Theory and Practice in the Study of Race, Gender, and Culture''''.'' In 2003, she co-edited a college writing textbook called ''Critical Inquiries: Readings on Culture and Community.''

Selected publications

* * * ** Winner of the 2000 Conference on College Composition and Communication Richard Braddock Award * ** Recognized by the

Modern Language Association The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "str ...

with the Mina P. Shaughnessy Prize * * **Winner of the Winifred Bryan Horner Outstanding Book Award

Awards and honors

In 2004 Royster received the Exemplar Award from the Conference on College Composition and Communication. In 2006 she received the Frances Andrew March Award from the

. She was named a fellow of the Rhetoric Society of America in 2014. In 2014, she and Gesa E. Kirsch received the Winifred Bryan Horner Outstanding Book Award from the Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric & Composition (CFSHRC) for her co-authored book ''Feminist Rhetorical Practices: New Horizons for Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy Studies'', and she received the Global Ambassador Award from Alliance Française d'Atlanta. In 2024, she received an honorable mention for the CFSHRC Winifred Bryan Horner Outstanding Book Award for her book ''Making the World a Better Place: African American Women Advocates, Activists, and Leaders, 1773-1990.'' With Jean C. Williams, she is the recipient of the 2000 Richard Braddock Award.

References

External links

Georgia Tech profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Royster, Jacqueline Living people Spelman College alumni University of Michigan alumni Georgia Tech faculty Rhetoricians Year of birth missing (living people)