Cheryl Thompson is a Black Canadian academic known for studying Black media studies, performance, archives and collections in Canada.[1] She is an associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) in the school of performance.[2][3]
Cheryl Thompson | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | Toronto Metropolitan University |
| Website | www |
Thompson completed a PhD in communication studies at McGill University under the supervision of Charmaine Nelson and Will Straw.[4] Her first book Beauty in a Box: Detangling the Roots of Canada's Black Beauty Culture, published in 2019 by Wilfrid Laurier Press, was based on her PhD dissertation.[5][6] It examined the relationship of Black women's hair with Canadian immigration, politics, and societal norms.[7] In a 2020 interview she explained that she wanted to raise "awareness that black women don't experience the same things other women do, and it's also based on the unique history that we have living in the Western world."[8]
Thompson joined Toronto Metropolitan's Creative School in 2018. She is currently pursuing a research project "Newspapers, Minstrelsy and Black Performance at the Theatre: Mapping the Spaces of Nation-Building in Toronto, 1870s to 1930s" as part of a SSHRC Insight Development Grant (2019–21).[9] Prior to her appointment at the school she was a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow from 2016 to 2018 with the Centre for Theatre, Drama and Performance Studies and the University of Toronto and the Department of English and Drama at the University of Toronto Mississauga .[4][10]
Thompson's second book Uncle: Race, Nostalgia and the Politics of Race, which used Uncle Tom as backdrop for understanding the production of racial tropes, is set to be published 2021 by Coach House Books.[11][12] The work aims to underscore the power and impact of stereotypes over time.[12]
In 2023, Thompson unveiled a new archival project, Mapping Ontario's Black Archives (MOBA), "a digital platform for open access to Black archival collections in Ontario."[13]
Select publications
editArticles
edit- Thompson, Cheryl (2 September 2019). "Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site and creolization: the material and visual culture of archival memory". African and Black Diaspora. 12 (3): 304–319. doi:10.1080/17528631.2019.1611325. S2CID 197697547.
- Thompson, Cheryl (19 September 2019). "Opinion - Why Trudeau's 'brownface' photo is not shocking". thestar.com. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- Thompson, Cheryl (3 September 2015). "Neoliberalism, Soul Food, and the Weight of Black Women". Feminist Media Studies. 15 (5): 794–812. doi:10.1080/14680777.2014.1003390. S2CID 143952348.
Books
edit- Thompson, Cheryl (April 2019). Beauty in a box : detangling the roots of Canada's black beauty culture. Waterloo, Ontario. ISBN 9781771123587.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Thompson, Cheryl (February 2021). Uncle : race, nostalgia, and the politics of loyalty. Toronto: Coach House Books. ISBN 9781552454107.
References
edit- ^ "Dr. Cheryl Thompson unveils groundbreaking 'Mapping Ontario's Black Archives (MOBA) project". Toronto Metropolitan University. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
- ^ "Hair Origins: Dr. Cheryl Thompson on Connecting the Past & Present Roots Through Narrative". ROOM Magazine. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "Dr. Cheryl Thompson". Ryerson University. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ a b "Alumni - Cheryl Thompson". Art History & Communication Studies. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Grier, Chaka V. (10 April 2019). "The untold story of Canada's Black beauty industry". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Garel, Connor. "Exploring the untold history of blackface in Canada". Ryerson University. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "Inspirational Black Canadians To Know". Elle Canada. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Manolakos, Jana (7 February 2020). "Q&A with Cheryl Thompson • Spa Inc. Magazine". Spa Inc. Magazine. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "Creative Industries Professor's study sheds light on the largely unknown history of blackface in Canada". Ryerson University. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "About". Dr. Cheryl Thompson. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Uncle. Coach House Books. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ a b Weir, Brock (1 February 2021). "Author explores racial stereotypes for Black History Month talk". NewmarketToday.ca. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "Dr. Cheryl Thompson unveils groundbreaking 'Mapping Ontario's Black Archives (MOBA) project". Toronto Metropolitan University. Retrieved 2024-07-09.