MGA professors share recently published book with community

MACON, Ga. – Middle Georgia State University hosted a free eye-opening event on the Macon campus library to share the work of two professors.

MGA professors Dr. Andre Nicholson and Dr. LaRonda Sanders-Senu invited the public to a reading of their book “Insecure, Awkward, and #Winning: Intersectionality of Race, Gender, and Sexuality in the Works of Issa Rae.”

Sanders-Senu said the book is about actress and comedian Issa Rae and analyzes her first web series called “Misadventures of Awkward Black girl” as well as a book she has written with the same title. The book mostly discusses how the actress is representing African American culture in the media.

“Her work is important to us because as Issa stated many times, she creates work that reflects people like her and wants to provide a space for others to do the same,” said Nicholson.

The authors shared during their reading that it took them three years to complete the book. Both of them were fans of the actress’s show “Insecure” and watched various interviews with Rae.

“The four editors we all had mutual love for the show. That all brought us together on a panel and that panel then turned into this publication,” said Nicholson.

Sanders-Senu said black females have been portrayed differently over the years and starting in the early 2000s, they were represented as tragic figures or weren’t fully represented. 

Sanders-Senu said Rae encountered those issues in her career; for example, producers didn’t want a dark-skinned woman to play her role in her first web series but instead wanted to cast a light-skinned woman. Topics including how gender and sexuality is represented in the media are also discussed in their book.

“It’s a multi-disciplinary book so it’s not just talking about it from a literary perspective or a media film perspective. It’s all different things and we even have an article in there about advertising and social media. It comes from different perspectives so there’s probably something in there for everyone,” said Sanders-Senu.

Nicholson said they wanted to share their book with the community because it was a labor of love, and it was a long journey to finally have it published.

“When you work on something so hard, you’re happy and willing to share that with other people. It is a show that students can relate to, and I think it’s great that we had a good turnout. Also, it’s important to get the word out and say, ‘Hey this is how we feel about it, and we hope you have the same experience,’” said Nicholson.

The event was a part of the university’s Coffee and Conversation Series. According to Reference Librarian and Coordinator of Library Instruction Kristen Bailey, the event is hosted by the university’s president’s office to give faculty the opportunity to showcase their work they have published. Bailey said it is about their research and giving a space for students to listen to what faculty are doing.

Students and faculty were invited to attend the event. To make it more interactive, attendees were given a ticket when they entered the event and were entered in a drawing to get a free copy of the book. The event also had a Q and A after their reading and invited the audience to ask questions relating to the book and black representation in the media.

“I hope they understand who she is as a content creator and walk away with a better understanding … we are in a place where African American women in particular are in space to have these discussions and open up the space for others to do the same,” said Nicholson.

Nicholson and Sanders-Senu’s book is available on Amazon and https://www.peterlang.com/document/1282556.

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