Professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; NY Times Opinion Columnist; 2020 MacArthur Fellow
Tressie McMillan Cottom, Ph.D. Biography
A trenchant cultural critic, celebrated sociologist, and award-winning writer, Tressie McMillan Cottom is known for rearranging your brain in the span of a carefully turned phrase. Her breadth is phenomenal – it moves from the racial hierarchy of beauty standards and the class codes of dressing for work to the predation of for-profit colleges and the stain of racial capitalism on our plural democracy – all while reimagining the essay form for the 21st century as she goes.
Professor Cottom’s first book, "Lower Ed," captures the zeitgeist on how profit, and debt, moved from the margins of higher education to bankrupt the very heart of American meritocracy. Influential change-makers like Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and activists like The Debt Strike Collective cite her book as important for changing the conversation about higher education. Her sharp insights do not let anyone off the hook – she argues that bad federal policy, state disinvestment, amoral narratives about meritocracy, and prestige-driven cultures of traditional higher education all share responsibility.
Dr. Cottom’s far-ranging intellectual interests include books, articles, magazine profiles and opinion-editorials but it is her essays that routinely shape the discourse. Dr. Cottom’s version of the essay – or Tressays, as her devout fans refer to them – is part revolutionary pamphlet, part poetic chapbook, part sociological analysis, and part call-to-arms. Her 2019 collection of essays, Thick, was a National Book Award finalist that reimagines the modern essay form. Tressays are powerful storytelling that make problems for power. Careful and poetic, Dr. Cottom explores the everyday culture of big ideas like racism, sexism, inequality, and oppression by giving us the language to live better lives.
Cottom is a professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, a 2020 MacArthur Foundation Fellow, and New York Times contributing opinion writer.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom, Ph.D. Speaking Topics
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The Present – and Future – of Discourse
MacArthur ‘Genius’ Fellow and award-winning author TRESSIE MCMILLAN COTTOM is in demand for her thrilling analysis of how pop culture, politics, and policy that are in the headlines and at the heart of the zeitgeist. In this imagination-expanding moderated conversation, Dr. Cottom uses personal history, her background in social science, and her gifts for humor and storytelling to offer a wide-ranging yet accessible view of the essential factors impacting current discourse.
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The Future of the American Democratic Project
Celebrated sociologist and author TRESSIE MCMILLAN COTTOM offers key insights into the current state of politics, and how Black women are shaping the future of the American Democratic project. From defining social movements, to how our identities influence our electoral choices, Dr. Cottom’s profound analysis makes for a dynamic, relevant, and memorable talk.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom, Ph.D. is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Author, Civil Rights, Culture, Diversity & Inclusion, Education, Social Activism, Social Justice, Social Sciences -
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Tressie McMillan Cottom, Ph.D. generally travels from Chapel Hill, NC, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent. -
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Tressie McMillan Cottom, Ph.D. is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as The Present – and Future – of Discourse, The Future of the American Democratic Project, Building Inclusive Corporate and Brand Culture, Technology, Culture, and the Reproduction of Inequality, Black Motherhood and Maternal Health Care and A Fireside Chat with Tressie McMillan Cottom. The estimated speaking fee range to book Tressie McMillan Cottom, Ph.D. for your event is available upon request. Tressie McMillan Cottom, Ph.D. generally travels from Chapel Hill, NC, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Bakari Sellers, Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, Hill Harper, Maya Wiley and Tarana Burke. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Tressie McMillan Cottom, Ph.D. for an upcoming live or virtual event.
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