Vershawn Ashanti Young

Vershawn Ashanti Young is a scholar in Black studies, English language and writing, and communications. He specializes in three specific areas in Black studies that include masculinity, writing studies, and also performance studies.[1] Young is the co-author of many books and multiple articles about Black studies and the importance of code-meshing.

Education

Young received a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Illinois Chicago and a Juris Doctor from the Mitchell Hamline School of Law.[2]

Career

Young was a professor at the University of Iowa and the University of Kentucky and taught in public schools.[3][4][5] In 2026, he is currently a professor in English Language and Literature at the University of Waterloo.[6]

Aside from being an educator, he is also a performer and an artist, most notably doing a one-man show tour called Your Average Nigga.[7] Young has published nine books, including Your Average Nigga, in which he discusses how black men have to give up their masculinity and way of speech to sound and act whiter to get an education. In his 2018 book Other People’s English, Young distinguishes between code-switching (dialect used at school versus dialect used at home or with friends) and code-meshing (a combination of both). Specifically, he defines code-meshing as a way to combine different language styles in same medium.[8] He also explains that language ideology is not neutral and other English varieties, specifically African American English, are treated as inferior.[9] He also researches masculinity in this book and compares Tyler Perry to former President Barack Obama to see what performances they needed to do to be as successful as they had become. In his 2017 book, Performing Antiracist Pedagogy in Rhetoric, Writing, and Communication, Young mentions how racism can appear in classrooms and provides educators with techniques to address the stereotypes and insecurities.[10] From Bourgeois to Boojie: Black Middle-class Performances published in 2011, Young analyzed how Black middle-class people navigate their identity and perform in United States history.[11] His book in 2011,Code-Meshing as World English: Pedagogy, Policy, Practice, Young recognized language diversity as a resource for classrooms rather than a limitation.[12]

In 2020, he was the chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication.[13][14]

Publications

  • Young, Vershawn Ashanti (2007). Your Average Nigga: Performing Race, Literacy, and Masculinity. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-814-33576-5.[15]
  • Young, Vershawn Ashanti; Martinez, Aja Y., eds. (2011). Code-Meshing as World English: Pedagogy, Policy, Performance. Urbana, Ill: National Council of Teachers of English. ISBN 978-0-8141-0700-3.[16]
  • Young, Vershawn Ashanti; Tsemo, Bridget Harris, eds. (2011). From Bourgeois to Boojie: Black Middle-Class Performances. African American life series. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-3468-3. OCLC 657270834.[17]
  • Young, Vershawn Ashanti; Barrett, Rusty; Young-Rivera, Y'Shanda; Lovejoy, Kim Brian (2013). Other People's English: Code-Meshing, Code-Switching, and African American Literacy. New York London: Teachers College Press, Columbia University. ISBN 978-1-64317-043-5.[18]
  • Oberon Garcia, Clare; Young, Vershawn Ashanti; Pimente, Charise, eds. (2014). From Uncle Tom's Cabin to The Help: Critical Perspectives on White-Authored Narratives of Black Life. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-44626-8.[19]
  • Condon, Frankie; Young, Vershawn Ashanti, eds. (2016). Performing Antiracist Pedagogy in Rhetoric, Writing, and Communication. Fort Collins, Colorado: The WAC Clearinghouse. ISBN 978-1-60732-649-6.[20]
  • Godfrey, Mollie; Young, Vershawn Ashanti, eds. (2018). Neo-Passing: Performing Identity After Jim Crow. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-05024-4.[21][22][23]
  • Young, Vershawn Ashanti; Robinson, Michelle Bachelor, eds. (2018). The Routledge Reader of African American Rhetoric: The Longue Duree of Black Voices. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-415-73105-8.[24][25]
  • Young, Vershawn Ashanti, ed. (2020). This Ain't Yesterday's Literacy: Culture and Education After George Floyd. Fountainhead Press. ISBN 978-1-644-85441-9.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Vershawn Ashanti Young". The Scholars Network. 2023-07-03. Archived from the original on 2024-03-16. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  2. ↑ "Vershawn Young | English Language and Literature". University of Waterloo. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  3. ↑ University of Michigan website, Scholars Network section, Vershawn Ashanti Young
  4. ↑ ResearchGate website, Profile: Vershawn Young
  5. ↑ Connections | Dr. Vershawn A. Young | Season 9 | Episode 20. Retrieved 2026-06-12 – via www.pbs.org.
  6. ↑ "Vershawn Young | English Language and Literature | University of Waterloo". uwaterloo.ca. Retrieved 2026-06-12.
  7. ↑ University of Kentucky website, A Performance to Survive, article by Erin Holaday dated October 20, 2010
  8. ↑ Ray, Brian (2015). Canagarajah, A. Suresh; Wible, Scott; Young, Vershawn Ashanti; Barrett, Rusty; Young-Rivera, Y'Shanda; Lovejoy, Kim Brian (eds.). ""It's Beautiful": Language Difference as a New Norm in College Writing Instruction". College Composition and Communication. 67 (1): 87–103. ISSN 0010-096X.
  9. ↑ Condon, Frankie (2017-01-01). "Review Essay: C'est Impossible/Impossible n'est pas francais". The Writing Center Journal. 36 (1). doi:10.7771/2832-9414.1822. ISSN 2832-9414.
  10. ↑ Wells, J (2026-06-04). "Review of Performing Antiracist Pedagogy in Rhetoric, Writing, and Communication, by Frankie Condon and Vershawn Ashanti Young". Praxis. Retrieved 2026-06-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ↑ Khader, Allison R. (2012-10-01). "From Bourgeois to Boojie: Black Middle-Class Performances". Text and Performance Quarterly. 32 (4): 374–376. doi:10.1080/10462937.2012.705887. ISSN 1046-2937.
  12. ↑ Henderson Lee, Sarah (2014). "Code‐Meshing as World English: Pedagogy, Policy, PracticeVershawnAshanti Young & Aja Y.Martinez (Eds.). Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 2011". TESOL Journal. 5 (3): 551–554. doi:10.1002/tesj.163. ISSN 1056-7941.
  13. ↑ Conference on College Composition and Communication website, 2024 Convention Handbook, page 291
  14. 1 2 Fountainhead Press website, This Ain’t Yesterday’s Literacy
  15. ↑ Hodge, Kristen (2008-09-12). "Your Average Nigga: Performing Race Literacy and Masculinity by Vershawn Ashanti Young: Detroit: Wayne State University Press (2007), ISBN 978-08143-3248-1, 170 pp., Paperback $19.95". Souls. 10 (3): 304–306. doi:10.1080/10999940802347822. ISSN 1099-9949.
  16. ↑ Lukes, Marguerite (December 2012). "Code-Meshing as World English: Pedagogy, Policy, Performance, edited by Vershawn Ashanti Young and Aja Y. Martínez: (Eds.).(2011). Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 298 pp". Bilingual Research Journal. 35 (3): 368–370. doi:10.1080/15235882.2012.731590. ISSN 1523-5882. Archived from the original on 2024-03-16. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  17. ↑ Cowin-Mensah, Michelle (2015). "From Bourgeois to Boojie: Black Middle Class Performances ed. by Vershawn Ashanti Young, with Bridget Harris Tsemo". Callaloo. 38 (1): 219–222. doi:10.1353/cal.2015.0033. ISSN 1080-6512. Archived from the original on 2024-07-24. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  18. ↑ Haddix, Marcelle M. (January 2016). "Other People's English: Code-Meshing, Code-Switching, and African American Literacy". Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 59 (4): 483–484. doi:10.1002/jaal.494. ISSN 1081-3004.
  19. ↑ Garza, Edward Santos. "Review: Clare Oberon Garcia, Vershawn Ashanti Young, and Charise Pimentel (Eds.). From Uncle Tom's Cabin to The Help: Critical Perspectives on WhiteAuthored Narratives of Black Life" (PDF). Reflections. 17 (1): 206–210.
  20. ↑ Tinsley, Natasha (2017-01-01). "Review: Performing Antiracist Pedagogy in Rhetoric, Writing, and Communication edited by Frankie Condon & Vershawn Ashanti Young". Writing Center Journal. 36 (2). doi:10.7771/2832-9414.1835. ISSN 2832-9414.
  21. ↑ Selisker, Scott (2019). "Review of Neo-Passing: Performing Identity after Jim Crow". African American Review. 52 (4): 409–410. doi:10.1353/afa.2019.0060. ISSN 1062-4783. JSTOR 26866086.
  22. ↑ Wilson, Nia (2020). "Neo-Passing: Performing Identity After Jim Crow". Liminalities. 16 (3). Archived from the original on 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  23. ↑ Cary Conger, Julie (2019-09-01). "Neo-Passing: Performing Identity after Jim Crow. Edited by Mollie Godfrey and Vershawn Ashanti Young". MELUS. 44 (3): 212–215. doi:10.1093/melus/mlz027. ISSN 0163-755X.
  24. ↑ Pettus, Mudiwa (2021-05-01). "Review: The Routledge Reader of African American Rhetoric: The Long Duree of Black Voices, edited by Vershawn Ashanti Young, and Michelle Bachelor Robinson". Rhetorica. 39 (2): 237–240. doi:10.1525/rh.2021.39.2.237. ISSN 0734-8584. Archived from the original on 2024-09-03. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  25. ↑ Pettus, Mudiwa (March 2021). "The Routledge Reader of African American Rhetoric: The Long Durée of Black Voices ed. by Vershawn Ashanti Young and Michelle Bachelor Robinson". Rhetorica. 39 (2): 237–240. doi:10.1353/rht.2021.0031. ISSN 1533-8541. Archived from the original on 2024-09-03. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
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