Akua Duku Anokye, Associate Professor of Africana Language, Literature, and Culture in the Division of Humanity Arts and Cultural Studies (HArCS) of Arizona State University's New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences. Dr Anokye is the Associate Director of HArCS at the West campus. She earned a BA from Michigan State University in Audiology and Speech Science, an MA from Federal City College in Audiology and Speech Science and Urban Linguistics, and MA and PhD degrees in Linguistics from City University of New York Graduate School and University Center.
A sociolinguist, her research focuses on African Diaspora orality and literacy practices, folklore, discourse analysis, and oral history with a specialization in Ghanaian culture, religion, storytelling, and dance. Among her publications are essays “Oral Connections to Literacy” in Journal of Basic Writing, “Private Thoughts, Public Voices: Letters from Zora Neale Hurston” in Women: A Cultural Review, " Centering the Margins: Language and Learning Styles for Composition 2000" in Attending to the Margins, and "Go Back and Fetch It: A Method for Decoding Text" in The Subject is Reading. Her book, Get It Together: Readings About African American Life, published by Longman, is an anthology of interdisciplinary readings that provide historical context for issues in the African American Experience.She is currently working on a book Nana Esi and Other People’s Children about a Ghanaian ancestress/deity who serves as archetype for African Diaspora women's literature and community mother activism. Dr. Anokye has received several grants for her work in Ghana, W. Africa on Nana Esi. She was the recipient of a 2010 Fulbright-Hays Group Projecvt Abroad grant and took 12 teachers to study in Ghana.
Dr. Anokye’s work in oral history and on community mothers has led her to produce several documentaries on local African American women activists including Betty and Jean Fairfax and Judge Jean F. Williams. In the classroom Dr. Anokye uses her ethnographic work to encourage student community activism and engagement.
In 2004 Dr. Anokye was elected to a four year term as chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) “the world's largest professional organization for researching and teaching composition, from writing to new media.” In addition, in 2009 Dr. Anokye was invited by College Board and the U.S. State Department to conduct workshops with teachers from the Association of International Schools in Africa (AISA). She is chair of the College Board’s Advanced Placement English Language and Composition Development Committee.
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