Address
Office: Gordon Hall 415
Cal State University, Fullerton
American Studies
800 N. State College Blvd. UH-313
Fullerton, CA. 92831
Kristin Rowe, Ph.D.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF AMERICAN STUDIES
BIO / DESCRIPTION
Kristin Denise Rowe (“Kris”) is a teacher and interdisciplinary scholar of body politics, beauty culture, race, gender, new media, and popular culture.
Her forthcoming book project examines narratives within art and popular culture of Black women’s experiences with natural hair, within the context of the contemporary natural hair movement. Kris's work has been featured in journals including Journal of American Culture, Women and Language, Open Cultural Studies, and Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. Her work has been supported by entities such as the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, funded by the Mellon Foundation.
Kris has been quoted in publications such as The Washington Post , Refinery 29 , Travel Noire , “The Lily” by The Washington Post, “Unbothered” by Refinery 29, Byrdie , and The Orange County Register . She was also featured in the docu-series The Black Beauty Effect produced by FaceForward Productions and presented by Comcast Xfinity. Kris has written for outlets such as CRWN magazine, The Body is Not an Apology , CurlyNikki, and The Research Collective for Decolonizing Fashion.
Kris has also taught in African American Studies at CSUF, where she is listed as a faculty affiliate. Kris earned her doctorate in African American and African Studies (with a certification in Women's and Gender Studies) at Michigan State University in May 2019.
DEGREES
2019, Ph.D., African American and African Studies, Michigan State University
2015, M.A., African American and African Studies, Michigan State University
2013, B.A., English & Black American Studies (Dual Degree), University of Delaware
COURSES REGULARLY TAUGHT
AMST 300 Introduction to American Popular Culture
AMST 401T The Body in American Culture
AMST 401T Drugs in American Culture (New course, Spring 2024)
AMST 412 Women, Race, and Ethnicity in American Culture
AMST 447 Race and American Popular Culture
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Rowe, Kristin Denise. “Embodied Absence: Black Womanhood, Beauty, and Exploring “Body Neutrality.” Critical Studies in Fashion & Beauty Special Issue: “Black Beauty: Perspectives, Views and Representations” (Forthcoming, TBA).
Rowe, Kristin Denise. “‘Unmanageable’: Exploring Black Girlhood, Storytelling, and Ideas of Beauty.” Open Cultural Studies, Vol. 6, Issue 1 (October 2022): https://doi.org/10.1515/culture-2022-0160
Rowe, Kristin Denise. “Rooted: On Black Women, Beauty, Hair, and Embodiment” in The Routledge Companion to Beauty Politics Ed. By Maxine Leeds Craig (Routledge, 2021)
Rowe, Kristin Denise. "'Beyond 'Becky with the Good Hair’: Hair, Beauty, and Interiority in Beyoncé Knowles-Carter’s ‘Sorry.'” eds. Baade. C, Smith, M., and McGee, K. Beyoncé in the World: Making Meaning with Queen Bey in Troubled Times (Wesleyan University Press, 2021).
Rowe, Kristin Denise. “'Nothing Else Mattered After That Wig Came Off’: Black Women, Hair, and Scenes of Interiority.” Journal of American Culture, Vol. 41, No. 1 (Spring 2019): 21-36: https://doi.org/10.1111/jacc.12971
Rowe, Kristin Denise. “Beyond ‘Good Hair’: Negotiating Hair Politics Through African American Language.” Women and Language, Vol. 42, No. 1 (May 2019) doi: 10.34036/WL.2019.004
Randolph, Antonia, Holly Swan, and Kristin Denise Rowe. “That $hit Ain’t Gangsta’: Symbolic Boundary Making in an Online Urban Gossip Community.” Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Vol. 47, No. 2 (2018): 609-639 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241617716744
Career Enhance Fellowship, Institute for Citizens & Scholars, Mellon Program (Research leave 2022-2023)
Inaugural Article of the Year Award (2019). Women and Language. Organization for the Study of Communication, Language, and Gender
Dean’s Faculty Scholarly Achievement Award, California State University Fullerton, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Office Hours
Fall 2023:
Monday and Wednesdays 1:30pm - 2:00pm and 4:00pm - 5:00pm
& by appointment
Website:
