Theorizing Communication and Race

Negotiations of the Complicitous Nature of US Racial/Ethnic Categorization: Exploring Rhetorical Strategies

“…Today these groups along with others with European heritage are simply classified as ''White.'' Race, as a sociopolitical construction, remains rooted in the collective consciousness of the US public (Allen, 2007;Orbe & Harris, 2008). In our most recent census, the 2000 US Census, five general categories were surveyed, four of which recognized ''primary'' racial groups: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Asian or Pacific Islander.…”

Transnational Feminist Advocacy Online: Identity (Re)Creation Through Diversity, Transparency, and Co-Construction

“…This microlevel tension is one that feminist organizational communication scholars have documented in U.S. organizations in terms of racial diversity (Allen, 1995(Allen, , 2000(Allen, , 2007Ashcraft & Allen, 2003), class (Acker, 2006), and organizing around feminist values (Ashcraft, 2000(Ashcraft, , 2006Buzzanell, 2000). For instance, Ashcraft (2006) refers to ''bounded diversity'' as a way to navigate the tensions of similarity and difference in feminist organizations (p. 73).…”

What's the Story? What's the Song?: Voices and Narratives of the Past, Present, and Future

“…It is probable that virtually any inspection, cursory or detailed, of our main journals (e.g., National Communication Association [NCA], International Communication Association [ICA], and regional association ones) will find few articles on race-likely a very low percentage of overall articles. Other authors (e.g., Allen, 2007;Hendrix, 2005;Orbe & Allen, 2008) have chronicled and provided details on this paucity of research on race published in mainstream communication journals. But why are so few articles on race published in these journals?…”