Dr. Sheena Mason

About Dr. Sheena Mason

Dr. Sheena Mason earned her Ph.D. in English literature “with distinction” in May 2021 from Howard University. She will join the faculty at SUNY Oneonta in Oneonta, NY, in August 2021, as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in African American literature. Currently, she teaches at Howard University and California Lutheran University. Her book titled Decolonizing America’s Raci(al/st) Imagination: an Examination and Critique of Anti-Racist Discourse has been accepted by Palgrave MacMillan and is anticipated to hit the press in early 2022. Additionally, she co-authored “Harlem Renaissance,” a chapter of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Ethics and Art examining what, if anything, is the proper role of race in the aesthetic productions of or about members of racialized populations. “‘A WHITE SLAVE:’ Albinism in Barbara Chase-Riboud’s Sally Hemings” from Cosmopolitanisms, Race, and Ethnicity (2019) analyzes how race functions as racism in Chase-Riboud’s Sally Hemings. Dr. Mason works actively to decolonize language and, therefore, our thoughts. In “No Malcolm X in My History Text” (2018), she examines the iterations of the folklore figure Staggerlee, the figure’s relation to the public sphere, and racism. Ultimately, she concludes that Staggerlee persists in the American imagination and is a simultaneously and paradoxically subversive and stereotypical figure, highlighting the pervasiveness of racism and society’s response to racism. In her scholarship, Dr. Mason consistently and unwaveringly works to promote anti-racism through her publications and teaching.
Her sustained interest in understanding systemic racism and, importantly, being a change agent for social justice resulted in her primary specialization in African American literature. Her secondary specializations are American and Caribbean literature. Through her research, teaching, and service, Dr. Mason inspires and informs organizations in every sector on anti-racism and revolutionary anti-racist initiatives and policy-changing efforts. She helps businesses and nonprofits turn the page in their DEI missions and visions, bringing anti-racism from a lofty idea to reality.Her unique areas of expertise (i.e., business/leadership, academia, and nonprofit) make her the ideal public speaker, workshop creator, and educator. Her unique areas of expertise (i.e., business/leadership, academia, and nonprofit) make her the ideal public speaker, workshop creator, and educator.