Dominique Branson
Visiting Lecturer | Criminology, Law, and Justice
University of Illinois at Chicago

bio.
I’m Dominique Branson, a Visiting Lecturer in the Criminology, Law, and Justice (CLJ) department at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). I teach two courses: Courts in Society and Language and Justice. In these courses, I inspire students to think critically about what justice is, and to think creatively about how to pursue justice using language. At the same time, I’m finishing my dissertation called, “Sounding Guilty: Criminalization and Black Racialized Speech” in the Linguistics department at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt). My research focuses on anti-Black linguistic racism in U.S. courts and schools. More specifically, I study the ways in which hegemonic listening practices perpetuate anti-Black racism and contribute to persistent racial inequalities in U.S. criminal legal and educational systems. By merging qualitative and quantitative research methods into raciolinguistic and critical discourse analysis frameworks, I aim to understand the role of language in perpetuating anti-Black racism and advance racial equity efforts.
publications.
Under Contract
Branson, D. (2023). “Getting the Language Right: Confronting Racism with Critical Discourse Analysis”. Black Bodies on the Frontlines of Anti-Racism.
Branson, D. (2023). “Curriculum Punishment”. Being #BlackintheIvory: Contending with Racism in the American University. UNC Press.
2022
Szoko, N., Murphy, C., Fuhrman, B., Friedman, F.S., Savage, M., Manning, H., Branson, D., London, S., & Miller, E. (2022). 131. “Virtual Yoga and Mindfulness Training Among Juvenile Court Involved Youth.” Journal of Adolescent Health, 70(4), S69-S70.
2021
Branson, D. (2021). “On the offensive: Prejudice in language past and present by Karen Stollznow” (review). Language in Society. 50(5).
Goodkind, S., Gartner, R., Jacobs, L., Branson, D., King, J., Meaux, S., Miller, E. (2021). “Making AIMS Explicit: Establishing Intersectionality Criteria for Gender Equity Analyses“. Social Work Research.
2019
Howell, J., Goodkind, S., Jacobs, L., Branson, D., Miller, E. (2019). “Pittsburgh’s Inequality Across Gender and Race“. Gender Analysis White Papers. City of Pittsburgh’s Gender Equity Commission.
Selected Works in Progress
Branson, D. “Tag Questions and the Naturalization of Anti-Blackism in Courtroom Discourse”. Manuscript.
Branson, D. “Sounding Guilty: Criminalization and Black Racialized Speech”. Manuscript.
curriculum vitae.
contact info.
Dominique Branson
branson4@uic.edu