Byline: Meghan Miglorie
In the 2026 fall semester Winthrop’s English Department welcomed African American Literature professor Renée Vincent as an assistant professor of English.
Originally from Dearborn, Michigan, Vincent went on to obtain her degrees in Sociology and English Literature at the University of New Orleans in 2012. Following her initial accomplishments, Vincent went on to earn a PhD from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette concentrated in the focus on the literary production of disaster.
RMR Staff asked Vincent more about her background, how moving to New Orleans influenced their profession.
“[…] It became clear that Katrina’s impact could not be separated from longer histories of dispossession, segregation, and racial inequity,” Vincent said.
RMR Staff asked Vincent what initially drew her towards literature, and how that inevitably funneled into being a professor of African American Literature.
“I am drawn to literature because it gives me a way to think about questions I have been asking for much of my life. Growing up Arab American during the Gulf War and later watching the second invasion of Iraq through the eyes of my father, who was born in that country, made me attentive to who gets to tell a story, who is spoken about rather than listened to, and whose perspectives we are taught to value,” Vincent said.
Vincent made sure to note that “[…] those experiences did not give me an understanding of Black experience.”
Vincent said that this highlighted the power of representation and the importance of spotlighting those who are not truly represented in the canon of academia and society.
Vincent also said that mentors such as Mohja Kahf, Niyi Osundare, and David Squires encouraged them to, ‘[…] trust my intellectual instincts, question the literary canon, and interrogate the archive.”
She went on to add an emphasis on influential activists such as Malcom X, writers like Audre Lorde and Richard Wright and their refusal to mold to the comfortable stereotypes of a segregated America, and the musician Kendrick Lamar’s album “DAMN” and its influence on the 21st century listeners.
Vincent’s extensive research into topics of African folklore, poetry, music, and culture demonstrates the dedication that she has to challenging traditional academia.
She said she intends to instruct students to immerse themselves in the understanding of past and present Black representation in America, and to invoke curiosity in her students, or as Vincent said “[…] questioning what they encounter and remaining open to what might be missing.”