Samantha Jenae Jones (Design for Responsible Innovation) is a member of the 2024–25 graduate cohort for “Collisions Across Color Lines,” the third Interseminars project funded by the Mellon Foundation. Samantha shared her thoughts on the experience and how her research relates to the Interseminar.
In what ways do your research interests connect to the theme “Collisions Across Color Lines?”
My studio practice is a process of self-exploration and a reclamation of a childhood marked by contradictions. This practice serves as an attempt to navigate and reconcile those contradictions, ultimately striving to define my own identity and intellectual framework. Through my work, I engage with the pervasive discourse of identity politics, specifically addressing the complexities that women of color in America must navigate. The theme of “Collisions Across Color Lines” has been quintessential to understanding why I, a biracial POC woman, feel so deeply and see so plainly the socioeconomic and racial divides that construct our colonialist, Christian, predominantly white country. Furthermore, as we start our spring semester theme “Resistance, Refusal, & Alternative Futurities,” I hope to create art that challenges internalized biases and disrupts our Western societies way of thinking about gendered and racial social scripts.
How has the Interseminars initiative impacted the way you approach your research?
The Interseminar has taught me a level of professionalism I did not know I would be learning. Working with three doctorate professionals from various departments and a number of PhD students has given me the opportunity to speak and interact with those who are years ahead of me in their academic careers. Yet, I must mention that the biggest impact on my research would be the discussions around solidarity. This course never felt like it had a hierarchy—a true democracy. I hope to carry that same level of respect and understanding to all my co-collaborative work.
Can you describe a group interaction or activity from Interseminars that has been particularly memorable?
Between the shared meals and the interactions with guest speakers it’s hard to decide. I have never had the pleasure of sharing regular lunches or dinners with so many intelligent and insightful people; the conversations are always nourishing to the mind and soul. But other than the dinners, I really enjoyed being able to speak with so many academic professionals on a personal level. Making them laugh, or hearing about their lives outside of academia creates a “realness” for people whom we normally only read about.
How will you bring interdisciplinary collaboration into the next phase of your graduate school experience?
I think conversation with your peers regardless of their medium or area of study is crucial to the academic experience. In addition, opening yourself up to alternative forms of knowledge will always make you more well-rounded as a researcher. When we open the door for outside opinions to come in, we open ourselves to new challenges and possibilities we may never have come to. Collaboration can build community.
Artwork above by Samantha Jenae Jones