John L. Jackson Jr.

John L. Jackson Jr. is an American anthropologist, filmmaker, author, and university administrator. He is presently the Richard Perry University Professor and the Walter H. Annenberg Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Annenberg School for Communication. Jackson is the author of Harlemworld: Doing Race and Class in Contemporary Black America (2001); Real Black: Adventures in Racial Sincerity (2005); Racial Paranoia: The Unintended Consequences of Political Correctness (2008); Thin Description: Ethnography and the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem (2013). He has also directed films that explore questions of race, diaspora, migration, and media.

John L. Jackson Jr.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationAcademic
Spouse(s)Deborah A. Thomas
Children2
Awards
  • SAS Teaching Award for Innovative Teaching
  • Presidential Award, American Anthropological Association
Academic background
Education
  • Howard University (BA)
  • Columbia University (MA)
  • Columbia University (M.Phil)
  • Columbia University (PhD)
Academic work
DisciplineAnthropologist
Institutions
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • Duke University
  • Harvard University

Jackson earned his B.A. from Howard University, his Ph.D. in Anthropology from Columbia University, and served as a junior fellow at the Harvard University Society of Fellows before joining the Cultural Anthropology faculty at Duke University.

Personal life

Jackson is married to Deborah A. Thomas.[1] Thomas is the R. Jean Brownlee Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania.[2] Thomas and Jackson have two children and live in South Philadelphia.[3]

Early life and education

Jackson was born in 1971. He began exploring research through media when he hosted a comic radio show called "The Jackson Attraction" during his junior and senior year of High school in Brooklyn, New York.[4] This experience gave him his first glimpse into the power of media. This led him to dive deeper into media as an undergraduate at Howard University. In 1993, he graduated summa cum laude from Howard University with a B.A in communications (radio, TV, and film). While attending Howard, Jackson was supported by the University Merit Scholarship (1989-1993) and the Ronald E. McNair Scholarship (1992-1993). He next received a National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship to pursue graduate work at Columbia University, earning an M.A (1994), an M.Phil. (1998), and a Ph.D. (2000), with distinction, in anthropology. His dissertation was supported by the Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship.[5][6]

Career

Following his doctorate, Jackson spent two years as a Junior Fellow at the Harvard University Society of Fellows in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[7] Then, from 2002 to 2006 taught cultural anthropology as an assistant professor at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.[5] In 2006, he moved to the University of Pennsylvania, becoming the first Penn Integrates Knowledge (PIK) University Professor.[8] He became Richard Perry University Professor of Communication and Anthropology and Professor of Africana Studies,[9] and in 2014, Dean of University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice.[10][11] In 2019, Jackson was named Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.[12]

Jackson is a founder member of CAMRA and PIVPE, two Penn-based initiatives dedicated to the creation of visual and performance research initiatives as well as the development of rigorous evaluation criteria.[13]

Research

His area of study focuses on how urban people theorize and employ racial and class inequalities in everyday interactions.[14] Jackson's research also looks at how modern urban religions are being used to promote health literacy and outcomes in marginalized and poor communities in Philadelphia and around the world.[15] Jackson’s research also explores how non-conventional methods may be applied in scholarly studies.[16]

Real Black

In this Book, Jackson proposes a new model for thinking about "authentic" black culture issues: racial sincerity. Jackson asserts the identity that racial authenticity caricatures impose on people and locks them in stereotypes. He conveys that sincerity, on the other hand, examines authenticity as an analytical model that seeks to deny people's freedom of choice in the search for identities. The book is based on more than a decade of ethnographic studies around New York City, including stories from police officers, conspiracy theorists, and gospel choirs.[17] Jackson's invented alter ego Athroman finds ethnographic significance, showing how race is defined and debated, imposed and confounded every single day.[18]

Racial Paranoïa

In this book, Jackson distinguishes racist paranoia (fear and suspicion of the hidden form of racism) from racism (observable act of racism and prejudice). He argues that racism actually becomes more pronounced as morphology and explicit social discrimination subside. Jackson uses examples from current events and everyday interactions to show its serious impact on racial paranoid culture and  the lives of all Americans. He explains how it is cultivated, communicated, and strengthened, and how it complicates the goal of racial equality in the United States.[19]

Thin Description

Thin Description: Ethnography and the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem (Harvard University Press, 2013) is based on the group of African Americans from varying backgrounds who sold their belongings and left the United States to relocate to Liberia in 1966.[20] Thin Description recounts this group’s journey from the relocation and eventual move to the modern state of Israel, where the community has lived since 1969. Through this, Jackson attempts to understand the way in which African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem navigate questions about the links between race and spirituality. Additionally, he explores challenges in anthropology research, especially as it pertains to conducting research on groups already researching or searching for themselves and their identities.[21]

Awards
  • 2012: SAS Teaching Award for Innovative Teaching for the way his courses explored the intersection of theory and practical components[22]
  • 2008-2010: University of Pennsylvania Faculty Fellow, Penn Fellow (Inaugural Cohort)[23]
  • 2009: President's Award, American Anthropological Association[24]
  • 2002: American Educational Studies Association, Critics' Choice Award[5][25]
  • 2002: Honorable Mention, John Hope Franklin Prize, American Studies Association[5][26]
  • 2001: Publishers Weekly, Notable Non-Fiction Book[5][27]

Works

Books

Films
  • Bad Friday: Rastafari after Coral Gardens (Third World Newsreel, 2012), co-directed with Deborah A. Thomas[42]
  • Making Sweet Tea: The Lives and Loves of Southern Black Gay Men, co-directed with Nora Gross and co-executive produced with E. Patrick Johnson[43]

References
  1. "John L. Jackson, Jr. | Samuel S. Fels Fund". www.samfels.org. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  2. "Deborah Thomas | Penn GSE". www.gse.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  3. "Ultimate Anthropologist: John Jackson, Dean of Penn's School of Social Policy & Practice". Penn Today. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  4. "Episode 2: Which GIF with John Jackson | Episodes | Pop and Play | Podcasts | Digital Futures Institute (DFI) | Teachers College, Columbia University". Teachers College - Columbia University. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  5. https://www.sp2.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Jackson-2017.pdf
  6. "John L. Jackson, Jr., Ph.D." www.asc.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  7. "Listed by Field". socfell.fas.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  8. "Penn names new dean of school for communication". AP News. February 9, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. "John L. Jackson Jr. | Penn Arts & Sciences Endowed Professors". web.sas.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  10. "John L. Jackson, Jr., Ph.D." www.asc.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  11. "John L. Jackson Jr. | Africana Studies". africana.sas.upenn.edu. University of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  12. "John L. Jackson, Jr. Named Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication | Annenberg School for Communication". Archived from the original on 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
  13. "Faculty/Alumni". CAMRA at Penn. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  14. "John L. Jackson, Jr: "What's Love Got to Do With It?"". Munroe Center for Social Inquiry. 2017-11-14. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  15. "Use of Film and Other Multi-Modal Formats in Contemporary Social Scientific Research | Center for Public Health Initiatives | Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania". www.cphi.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  16. "Episode 2: Which GIF with John Jackson | Episodes | Pop and Play | Podcasts | Digital Futures Institute (DFI) | Teachers College, Columbia University". Teachers College - Columbia University. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
  17. Anyabwile, Thabiti. "Performing "Race" Sincerely: A Review of John L. Jackson's "Real Black: Adventures in Racial Sincerity"". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  18. "The future of Annenberg, with John L. Jackson Jr. at the helm". Penn Today. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  19. https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/bdr/article/download/1178/1241/5087
  20. Rouse, Carolyn M. (2015). "Thin Description: Ethnography and the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem. John Jackson. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2013. 394 pp". American Ethnologist. 42 (1): 176–177. doi:10.1111/amet.12124_2. ISSN 1548-1425.
  21. Jr, John L. Jackson (2013-11-04). Thin Description. Harvard University Press. doi:10.4159/harvard.9780674726253. ISBN 978-0-674-72625-3.
  22. "04/24/12, School of Arts & Sciences Teaching Awards - Almanac, Vol. 58, No. 31". almanac.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
  23. "Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty | Penn Faculty Fellows". Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  24. "AAA President's Award - Connect with AAA". www.americananthro.org. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  25. "Critics' Choice Book Awards". www.educationalstudies.org. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  26. "John Hope Franklin Prize | ASA". www.theasa.net. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  27. "Nonfiction Book Review: Real Black: Adventures in Racial Sincerity by John L. Jackson, Jr., Author University of Chicago Press $20 (298p) ISBN 978-0-226-39002-4". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  28. "Nonfiction Book Review: HARLEMWORLD: Doing Race and Class in Contemporary Black America by John L. Jackson, Jr., Author Univ. of Chicago $30 (299p) ISBN 978-0-226-38998-1". Publishers Weekly. September 24, 2001. Archived from the original on 2017-08-26. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
  29. Heynen, Nik; Moore, Toby; Smith, Jonathan M. (2005-03-01). "Harlemworld: Doing Race and Class in Contemporary Black Ameria. John L. Jackson; Race, Ethnicity, and the Politics of City Redistricting. Joshua G. Behr; Place: A Short Introduction. Tim Cresswell". Urban Geography. 26 (2): 193–196. doi:10.2747/0272-3638.26.2.193. ISSN 0272-3638. S2CID 144989172.
  30. Cha-Jua, Sundiata Keita (2003-03-01). "Harlemworld: Doing Race and Class in Contemporary Black America". Journal of American History. 89 (4): 1623. doi:10.2307/3092702. ISSN 0021-8723. JSTOR 3092702. Archived from the original on 2017-10-04.
  31. Smalls, Krystal A. (2013-10-01). "Real Black: Adventures in Racial Sincerity. A1 - John L. Jackson, Jr . Chicago, IL, and London, UK: PB - The University of Chicago Press , 2005. [vii] + 298 pp. (Cloth US$59.00; Paper US$20.00)". Transforming Anthropology. 21 (2): 205–207. doi:10.1111/traa.12015_6. ISSN 1548-7466.
  32. Young, Reviewed by Vershawn Ashanti (2006-09-01). "A Review of: "Real Black: Adventures in Racial Sincerity by John L. Jackson"". Souls. 8 (3): 204–206. doi:10.1080/10999940600890296. ISSN 1099-9949. S2CID 145404777.
  33. "Nonfiction Book Review: Real Black: Adventures in Racial Sincerity by John L. Jackson, Jr., Author University of Chicago Press $20 (298p) ISBN 978-0-226-39002-4". Publishers Weekly. October 31, 2005. Archived from the original on 2017-08-26. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
  34. "RACIAL PARANOIA The Unintended Consequences of Political Correctness: The New Reality of Race in America by John L. Jackson Jr". Kirkus Reviews. May 20, 2010. Archived from the original on 2017-08-26. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  35. "Nonfiction Book Review: Racial Paranoia: The Unintended Consequences of Political Correctness by John L. Jackson, Jr., Author Basic $26 (274p) ISBN 978-0-465-00216-0". Publishers Weekly. February 11, 2008. Archived from the original on 2017-08-26. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
  36. Doss, Adeyemi (2010). "John L. Jackson, Racial Paranoia: The Unintended Consequences of Political Correctness". Black Diaspora Review. 1 (2): 39–41. ISSN 2334-1521. Archived from the original on 2017-08-26.
  37. Withrow, Brian L. (2010-03-01). Book Review: Jackson, J. L. Racial Paranoia: The Unintended Consequences of Political Correctness New York, NY: Basic Civitas, 2008, 278 pp. Criminal Justice Review. Vol. 35. pp. 127–128. doi:10.1177/0734016809349168. ISBN 978-0465002160. ISSN 0734-0168. S2CID 146502808.
  38. "Nonfiction Book Review: Impolite Conversations: On Race, Politics, Sex, Money, and Religion by Cora Daniels and John L. Jackson Jr. Atria, $25 (320p) ISBN 978-1-4767-3911-3". Publishers Weekly. June 2, 2014. Archived from the original on 2017-08-26. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
  39. Bass, Patrik Henry (2014-09-18). "She Say, He Say: Cora Daniels' Provocative New Book". Essence. Archived from the original on 2017-08-26. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
  40. "IMPOLITE CONVERSATIONS On Race, Politics, Sex, Money, and Religion by Cora Daniels ; John L. Jackson Jr". Kirkus Reviews. June 19, 2014. Archived from the original on 2017-08-26. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  41. Raymond, Emilie (January 2019). "Televised Redemption: Black Religious Media and Racial Empowerment. By Carolyn Moxley Rouse, John L. Jackson, Jr., and Marla F. Frederick". Journal of Social History. 52 (3): 1011–1013. doi:10.1093/jsh/shx054. S2CID 148749586.
  42. "Bad Friday". badfridaythemovie.com. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  43. "Making Sweet Tea". Making Sweet Tea. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
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