Remarkable Receptions

A brief take on free book distribution at SIUE, showing how giving students hundreds of titles and hosting browsing sessions sparked excitement and expanded opportunities for reading, conversation, and engagement with arts and humanities. 

Script by Howard Rambsy II 

Narration by Kassandra Timm

A brief take on the Fantastic Findings Forum, showing how short reflections demonstrate that brief insights can open new interpretive pathways in African American literary studies.

Script by Howard Rambsy II

Read by Kassandra Timm

 A brief take on subfields in African American literary studies, showing how areas like the Harlem Renaissance, Richard Wright studies, the Black Arts Movement, and Toni Morrison Studies emerged over time to organize research, debates, and scholarly communities. 

Script by Howard Rambsy II

Read by Kassnadra Timm

 A brief take on recurring alliteration in African American language practices, tracing how phrases like Sorrow Songs, Freedom Fighters, and New Negro Movement, use sound, rhythm, and repetition to enhance memorability, circulate ideas, and reinforce traditions of creativity, resistance, and representation.

Script by Howard Rambsy II

Read by Kassandra Timm

A brief take on layered metaphorical masking in The Boondocks, showing how Aaron McGruder’s satire stacks voices and cultural references, linking Samuel L. Jackson’s role in Pulp Fiction, Donald Rumsfeld’s infamous “unknown unknowns,” and a cartoon performance of political critique, to reveal how masking can function as comedy and cultural remix. 

Script by Howard Rambsy II 

Narration by Kassandra Timm

A brief take on three Black women, June Jordan, Carolyn Denard, and Oprah Winfrey, whose literary advocacy, scholarly institution-building, and mass-media influence helped elevate Toni Morrison’s work into enduring cultural and academic centrality.

Script by Howard Rambsy II

Narration by Kassandra Timm

A brief take on how SIUE Promise Prize Scholars Nia Roy and Al Smith respond to Amy Sherald’s portraiture, showing how students articulate the power of her grayscale technique, vibrant color contrasts, and confident subjects to reshape perceptions of Black identity and everyday representation.

Script by Howard Rambsy II

Narration by Kassandra Timm

A brief take on how African American literary knowledge has long circulated through sound as well as print, showing how Remarkable Receptions extends that oral tradition by calling listeners into an audio archive of Black literary history.

Written by Howard Rambsy II

Read by Kassandra Timm

A brief take on reimagining scholarly book reviews in African American literary studies, exploring how cluster reviews could illuminate broader developments across subfields more effectively than single-volume assessments.

Written by Howard Rambsy II

Read by Kassandra Timm 

A brief take on the varied pronunciations of W. E. B. Du Bois’s name, revealing how letters, scholars, and shifting preferences reflect the ongoing reception of one of Black America’s most influential intellectuals.

Written by Howard Rambsy II 

Read by Kassandra Timm