UMass Boston

Lynnell Thomas

Department:
Student Equity Access &Success
Title:
Associate Vice Provost
Location:
Campus Center Floor 01

Areas of Expertise

African American Studies, American Literature and Culture, New Orleans Culture and History

Degrees

PhD, Emory University

Professional Publications & Contributions

Additional Information

Research Interests:

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Lynnell Thomas' research interests include New Orleans tourism, African American history and culture, and Black popular culture. A native of New Orleans, Lynnell Thomas is part of the post-Katrina diaspora, which informs her teaching and scholarship.  Her research is also concerned with the diverse backgrounds and experiences that constitute and contest American identity and values.  Her most recent scholarship has examined the distortion of African American history and culture in New Orleans’ tourism narrative, the negative impact of this narrative on policy decisions following Hurricane Katrina, and the ways that African Americans and others have attempted to resist and revise this narrative. Her first book, Desire and Disaster in New Orleans: Tourism, Race, and Historical Memory, was published by Duke University Press in August 2014.