Randal Maurice Jelks

- Professor
Contact Info
Lawrence
1440 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence, KS 66045
Personal Links
Biography —
Randal Maurice Jelks is Professor of African and African American Studies and American Studies. He is an award winning author and a documentary film producer. His books are African Americans in the Furniture City: The Struggle for Civil Rights Struggle in Grand Rapids, Benjamin Elijah Mays, Schoolmaster of the Movement: A Biography, Faith and Struggle in the Lives of Four African Americans: Ethel Waters, Mary Lou Williams, Eldridge Cleaver and Muhammad Ali and Letters to Martin: Meditations on Democracy in Black America. Jelks has recently contributed to a collection of essays titled 42 Today: Jack Robinson and His Legacy edited by Michael Long. His essays have appeared in the Boston Review, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and Truthout as well as other national blogs, journals, magazine and newspapers.
Education —
Research —
Research interests:
- African American Religion
- American Religion
- American Social Movements
- Civil Rights Movement
- Religions in the Africa Diaspora
Teaching —
Classroom Teaching
My first task as a teacher is to engage students' minds by building a classroom setting that fosters a discursive community where ideas are respectfully exchanged, content knowledge enhanced, and skills of critical analysis are honed. Regularly I begin all classes by affirming students' intellects and challenging them to bring their focused minds and articulate voices into the classroom. I attempt to accomplish these things through organized syllabi, challenging readings, philosophical queries, engaged lectures and thoughtful assignments in and outside of the class or seminar.
Teaching interests:
- American Religion
- American Social Movements, Civil Rights
- African Studies
- African American Studies
- Religions in the African Diaspora
Selected Presentations —
Awards & Honors —
University of Georgia Libraries; Georgia Center for the Book/Dekalb Public Library; Southern Regional Council
2013
University of North Carolina Press
2013
Calvin College
2013
Calvin College
2013
College of Liberal Arts and Science, University of Kansas
2012
Grand Rapids Community College
2009
University of Illinois Press
2006
Calvin College
2004