Louis M. Maraj

A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Louis M. Maraj is assistant professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh and co-founder of DBLAC, a national support organization for emerging Black scholars in language-related fields. He thinks/creates/converses cross-disciplinarily with theoretical Black studies, rhetoric, digital media, and critical pedagogies, to specifically address anti/racism, anti/Blackness, and expressive form. Maraj’s book, Black or Right: Anti/Racist Campus Rhetorics, explores notions of Blackness in historically white institutions, performatively arguing that Black folk must invent “otherwise” in everyday reiterative escape from their oppressive spaces. Recent essays appear in Precarious Rhetorics, Prose Studies, and Women’s Studies in Communication.

Title: DBLAC Virtual Writing Group with the Thomas R. Watson Conference (with Khirsten L. Scott)
Date: Wednesday, April 14, 2021, 10am-1 pm EST
Description: Though many of DBLAC's programs are tailored to Black graduate students, we are increasingly aware of the collective and universal need for community, especially in intellectual pursuits. That considered, we strive to share our methods and also to promote supportive communal interactions when possible. Our Writing Workshop is an extension of our organization’s goal to foster a learning community where members are able to present their ideas, research, and writing amongst emerging scholars as a means of professional support and development.

During the Writing Workshop, we will engage in a brief synchronous talk on anti-racism writing with/in community, participants will be encouraged to share writing goals and work asynchronously through individual projects and writing activities, and we will conclude with a brief synchronous closing talk.

This workshop is open to all interested participants.