Notable Achievements

Assistant Professor of Anthropology Naomi Reed (panel organizer) and Professor of Anthropology Melissa Johnson (panel chair), along with two SCOPE undergraduate students, Rose Reed ’25 and Kalista Esquivel ’26, presented their panel “Unsilencing the Past: How Oral Histories Give Voice to Black and Latinx Students at Southwestern University” on April 18 at the Southwestern Social Science Association Conference in New Orleans, LA. Dr. Johnson discussed the foundational history of the University and the founding of The SU Racial History Project. Dr. Reed discussed the liberatory potential of oral histories and why this particular method is key to unsilencing the voices of the oppressed at a predominantly white institution. Rose presented the oral history of Lynette Philips, a Black woman who attended Southwestern University between 1980-1984, played basketball for the university, and was very active on campus. Kalista presented the oral history of Eva Mendiola, a Mexican-American woman who attended Southwestern University from 1972-1975 and founded the volleyball team, which was the first women’s sports team on campus. Future plans include submitting these student papers to a special issue of an oral history journal. The conference program can be viewed here.

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Naomi Reed

Assistant Professor of Anthropology

Expertise

Critical Whiteness Studies, The Anthropology of Whiteness, African Diaspora Studies, Educational Anthropology, Cultural Heritage, Race and Racism in the American South

Dr. Naomi Reed is a sociocultural anthropologist who studies whiteness, Blackness, cultural heritage, and education. Her primary focus has been on Sugar Land, Texas, US History curriculum, and the Sugar Land 95. She received her B.S. in Pure Mathematics at The University of Texas at Austin and her M.A. in Social Sciences from The University of Chicago. She received her Ph.D. in Social Anthropology and African Diaspora Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. She also co-wrote and co-hosts the Texas Newsroom Podcast series, “Sugar Land”

  • Biography

    Dr. Naomi Reed is a sociocultural anthropologist who studies whiteness, Blackness, cultural heritage, and education. Her primary focus has been on Sugar Land, Texas, US History curriculum, and the Sugar Land 95. She received her B.S. in Pure Mathematics at The University of Texas at Austin and her M.A. in Social Sciences from The University of Chicago. She received her Ph.D. in Social Anthropology and African Diaspora Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. She also co-wrote and co-hosts the Texas Newsroom Podcast series, “Sugar Land”

In the News

  • Discovering Southwestern’s Untold History

    SCOPE project shines a light on two stories of minority athletes.