Encyclopedia of Identity

Ronald L. Jackson II (Ph. D., Howard University) is Associate Professor of Culture and Communication Theory in the Department of Communication Arts & Sciences at the Pennsylvania State University. He is author of The Negotiation of Cultural Identity  (Praeger Press), Think About It! (Iuniverse.com), African American Communication: Identity and Culture (with Michael Hecht and Sidney Ribeau; Erlbaum Publishers).  Forthcoming are five books entitled: African American Rhetorics: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (with Elaine Richardson; Southern Illinois University Press); Scripting the Black Masculine Body in Popular Media: Identity, Discourse and Racial Politics in Popular Media (SUNY Press), Essential Readings in African American Communication Studies and Understanding African American Rhetoric (with Elaine Richardson).  Dr. Jackson’s theory work includes the development of two paradigms coined “cultural contracts theory” and "black masculine identity theory."

"....Nearly 300 essays... provide scholarly yet clearly written overviews of the many aspects of identity from the many disciplines that treat it.... Bottom line This is a most worthwhile reference tool for many academic libraries, as well as for large public libraries. The electronic version, while more expensive, will provide a greater ease of searching and accessing individual terms within every article. Highly recommended." (starred review)