Episode #1: Professor Jonathan Holloway

"How come [certain] stories still resonate so well?...These stories can be ways of narrating racial belonging, in a sense. And, I just couldn't shake that idea."

Jim Crow Wisdom: Memory & Identity in Black America since 1940 by Jonathan Scott Holloway (UNC Press, 2013)

Before Professor Holloway became Dean of Yale College, he was the first guest on The Lower Frequencies. Discussing his recent book, Jim Crow Wisdom (UNC Press, 2013), Professor Holloway provides a biographical sketch tracing the process of writing and the role that certain histories and collective memory play in shaping the present.

From his time as a child, to playing football for Stanford University, to his then-role as Chair of the African American Studies Department, Professor Holloway reveals the intricacies of academia, archives and how the ghosts of the past are never fully excised. Overflowing with incredible insights on the contemporary moment and vivid anecdotes of his own life, this inaugural episode probes just those connective points between a scholar's professional commitments and contributions with his/her personal life.

Listen below:

Artwork provided by Claire Schwartz.

Music in this episode from ccmixter.org (licensed by Creative Commons)

Introduction: "I'm fine, sky is blue" by Teru 2013 -- Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)

Transition: "I miss hip hop (Hip Hop Instrumental)" by Robbero 2013 -- Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)

Outro: "Contemplations" by _ghost 2013 -- Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)