As part of the 2025 Southeastern Conference Faculty Travel Gant which promotes faculty exchanges among SEC institutions to expand collaborative research, shared teaching and cross-campus innovation, Jabari Evans, Ph.D., visited the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida, where he delivered a guest lecture titled “The Stories We Tell: Race, Media, and Cultural Power.”
Evans’ talk examined how media functions as a social institution that shapes identity, belonging and civic imagination. Students engaged in discussions exploring algorithmic bias, authenticity as labor, remix culture and well-being in the digital creator economy.
In collaboration with his host, Antoine Haywood, Ph.D., Evans worked to advance the development of his upcoming course, JOUR 398: Hip-Hop Civics — exploring how hip-hop culture impacts and influences civic and community leadership. Together, they finalized the syllabus, completed an IRB application and designed a survey instrument to assess student engagement, identity development and civic participation through creative production. These efforts form the foundation for a long-term research agenda linking media production, digital literacy and civic education.
Throughout his visit, Evans met with faculty and administrators to explore opportunities for broader collaboration. He discussed inclusion initiatives and SEC-wide programs with Dean Hub Brown, shared mentoring and research insights on integrating critical media literacy across journalism curricula and engaged in conversations with faculty members to deepen academic connections.
Evans’ visit fostered meaningful exchanges with both faculty and students, reinforcing his commitment to linking critical media literacy with creative production and civic engagement. The new course materials and research tools developed during his visit will continue to inform innovative teaching and scholarship across institutions.
"I am grateful for the hospitality and intellectual generosity at the University of Florida," Evans says. "The SEC Faculty Travel Grant opened space for very meaningful dialogue and tangible next steps that advance equity-centered media education and support the next generation of creators and scholars.”
Looking ahead, this collaboration strengthens the partnership between the University of South Carolina and the University of Florida, paving the way for co-authored research, joint curriculum development and a potential SEC-wide initiative on race, media and technology.
Evans noted that his time at the University of Florida “demonstrated how cross-institutional collaboration can advance both pedagogy and scholarship on race, media and technology." The visit highlighted the importance of creating spaces, inside and outside the classroom, where students can connect cultural identity with civic imagination.