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 Ronald J. Stephens, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Chair
Contact Information
Phone: (740) 593-9306
Fax: (740) 593-0671
Office: 302 Lindley Hall
E-mail:stepher2@ohio.edu
Education
Ph.D. 1996, African American Studies/Urban History & Popular Culture.
Temple University
M.A. 1992, African American Studies/Intercultural Communication. Temple University
M.A. 1991, Speech Communication/Library Science. Wayne State University
B.A. 1986, Speech Communication, Public Relations. Wayne State University
Biography
Ronald J. Stephens, Ph.D., African American Studies, Temple University, is associate professor and chair of the Department of African American Studies at Ohio University. A scholar on the popular African American resort town of Idlewild, Michigan, Dr. Stephens worked as a research assistant on Ted Talbert’s award-winning documentary-film Idlewild: A Place in the Sun (1995). Owing to his national reputation as the leading historian of Idlewild, Dr. Stephens has either appeared on or been cited in numerous public programs, including Idlewild: The Real Thing (an edition of Tony Brown’s Journal), Idlewild (an NPR production), Idlewild: Rebuilding Paradise (a Flint’s ABC 12 Special program), Are We There Yet? Americans on Vacation (a History Channel program), Idlewild, Michigan: A Black Historical Resort (on Milwaukee’s Black Nouveau series), and Historic African American Towns (a High Noon Productions program for Home and Gardens Television).
Along with numerous articles and historical reports about Idlewild, he is the author of Idlewild: The Black Eden of Michigan (2001), a popular pictorial reader that focuses exclusively on Idlewild’s illustrious history, as well as its decline and rebirth. The co-curator, moreover, with Marsha MacDowell of the Michigan State University Museum, of Michigan’s traveling Idlewild photographic exhibition (2003-present), a project which increased public interest and understanding about the resort town, Dr. Stephens remains a strong advocate of Idlewild. Dr. Stephens is currently completing two book-length scholarly projects: Idlewild: The Rise, Decline, and Rebirth of a Unique Black Resort Town, a monograph that brings together many years of research and study; and Robert Franklin Williams Speaks, an edited collection of writings by the national and international activist, veteran civil and human rights advocate, critic, and pragmatist.
Selected Bibliography and Recent Publications
ARTICLES
(2008). Methodological considerations for micro-studies of UNIA-ACL Divisions: Notes on an ethno-historical analysis. Journal of Black Studies, Special issue on Garveyism in the United States, edited by Mark Christian.
(2004). Garveyism in Idlewild, Michigan, 1927-1936. Journal of Black Studies, 34, 4, 462-488.
(2003). Narrating acts of resistance: Explorations of untold heroic and horrific battle stories surrounding Robert Franklin Williams' residence in Lake County, Michigan.Journal of Black Studies, 33, 5, 675-703.
(2002). With M. Keavney, and V. K. Patton. Come colour my rainbow: Themes of Africana womanism in the poetic vision of Idlewild's Audrey Kathryn Bullet. Journal of Black Studies, 32 ,4, 464-479.
(2001). With E. Wright, III. Beyond bitches, niggers, and ho's: Rap music and the sociology of knowledge. Race and Society, 3, 23-40.
BOOKS
(2008). With La Wanna M. Larson, and the Black American West Museum. Images of America, African Americans of Denver. Chicago: Arcadia Publishing.
(2001). Images of America, Idlewild: The Black Eden of Michigan. 3rd Edition. Chicago: Arcadia Publishing.
Courses Taught
AAS 106 Introduction to African American Studies
AAS 254 History of Injustices in the United States
AAS 400 Research Methods in African American Studies
AAS 490 Critical Theory in African American Studies
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