2017 Trinity Distinguished Lecture: My Mother Gave Me This Big-Ass Name - A Black Scholar in the Mix

Mark Anthony Neal, a professor in the departments of African & African American Studies and English, gave the inaugural Trinity Distinguished Lecture on Thursday, May 4, 2017. An accomplished scholar, Mark Anthony has published in the gold standard African American Studies journals: Souls; African American Review; and Black Renaissance. As of 2017, he has authored five peer-reviewed books.
Through his research, Mark Anthony challenges audiences to engage with the ideologies of black popular culture. He seeks to understand how the music, television, film and literature of African diaspora cultures impact the societal and cultural norms of the United States and around the world. Additionally he hosts the video webcast Left of Black, which is produced in collaboration with the John Hope Franklin Center at Duke.
He teaches courses on Black Masculinity, Popular Culture, and Digital Humanities, including signature courses on Michael Jackson & the Black Performance Tradition, and The History of Hip-Hop, which he co-teaches with Grammy Award Winning producer 9th Wonder, also known as Patrick Douthit.