Jane Rhodes
Professor of Black Studies
Biography
Jane Rhodes (Photo: Jenny Fontaine/University of Illinois Chicago)
From Black Lives Matter activism, to television and other mediums, the issue of African American representation is at the forefront of American discussion.
Jane Rhodes is a historian who studies the role of mass media in political, intellectual and Black cultural exchanges and the representation of African Americans in television and film.
From freedom struggles in the 19th and 20th centuries to media and culture in contemporary social movements, she has explored how aggrieved communities use print, film, electronic media, music or other expressive outlets as forms of resistance and empowerment. Her work also examines the gender politics of African American communities and social movements and Black expatriates across the Atlantic — particularly in Great Britain.
Watch Rhodes’ 3-minute talk on Black American expatriate and psychotherapist Marie Battle Singer, delivered at SparkTalks, UIC’s take on faculty lightning talks.
