This Week in Black History, Society, and Culture
"This Week in Black History, Society, and Culture" is a monthly podcast produced by Dr. Hettie V. Williams Professor of History in the Department of History and Anthropology at Monmouth University. Williams is the author of several essays, articles, book chapters and the author/editor of seven books. Her research interests include African American intellectual and cultural history, women's history, and race/ethnic studies. She is also the former director of the Trotter Institute for the Study of Black Culture at UMass Boston. Williams periodically interviews scholars, authors, activists, and community leaders on matters related to the history, society, and culture of Black and African American communities in the United States (U.S.) and the world. These podcast episodes are on a variety of subjects including, but not limited to, higher education, economics, criminal justice, reparations, mental health, history, science, gender, popular culture, women, and politics. A new episode will be released monthly on Monday mornings from September to May during each academic term.
This Week in Black History, Society, and Culture
Say Their Names: Race and Gender in Candyman
In this episode, Dr. Hettie V. Williams discusses the cult classic Candyman with Dr. Lisa Dinella and Professor Claude Taylor. Dinella is Professor of Psychology at Monmouth University, Principal Investigator of the Gender Development Laboratory, and Director of the Program in Gender and Intersectionality Studies (PGIS), and Professor Taylor is Director of Academic Transition and Inclusion at Monmouth and he also teaches several courses in media studies at Monmouth. This conversation is focused specifically on race and gender in the slasher film with a focus on the 1992 and 2021 versions of Candyman starring Tony Todd as “Candyman.” Dinella and Taylor consider how gender and race are represented in this genre and how filmmakers Jordan Peele and Nia DaCosta have extended the boundaries of this genre to focus more intently on race, gender and social problems.
