Rae Lynn
Schwartz-DuPre (Ph.D University of Iowa 2006) is a Professor of Communication
Studies at Western Washington University with a specialization in feminist postcolonial
theory, rhetorical studies, and visual communication. Her scholarship is committed
to understanding the ways in which (re)presentations rhetorically constitute
knowledge within various modes of occupation, citizenship, and resistance. Her collection
Communicating Colonialism: Readings on
Postcolonial Theory(s) and Communication, (Peter Lang, 2013) makes a
compelling case for the continued relevance of postcolonial studies in an age
of transnationalism and globalization. Her current book Curious about George: Curious George, Cultural Icons, Colonialism,
& American Exceptionalism takes up Curious George as an example of
contemporary colonialism. By
modeling the importance of linking race, gender, colonialism,
icons, and citizenship she figures him as cultural icon of American exceptionalism. Additional scholarship has appeared in journals
such as Textual Practice, Critical Studies in Media Communication,
Feminist Media Studies, Communication, and Communication, Culture & Critique. Click to see Dr. Schwartz-DuPre's full CV.
Curious about George: This
project critically considers the global circulation of Curious George as a cultural icon of American exceptionalism to
model the importance of linking postcolonialism, identity, cultural icons, and
American citizenship. Specially, this talk reflects on the relationships
between the dominant discourses in which Curious
George most predominantly circulates: 1) colonial children’s literature that
figures the pathetic white father figure as hero (1941-present); 2) science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education that privileges
curiosity over the history of scientific determinism (2006-present); and 3)
Holocaust nostalgia in which the American savory is honored (2005-present). While
seemingly unrelated, what George’s discourses share is a rich training ground
for children to learn U.S. citizenship—one that dismisses its slavery-based
colonial roots, promotes STEM education as the backbone of the U.S. economy and
global competitiveness, and privileges its remembrance of the Holocaust as a
motivator of American global power.
