Walt Jacobs Faculty Profile

Faculty Profiles

Walt Jacobs Faculty Profile

Walt Jacobs

Professor

Department of Ethnic Studies

E-mail: walt.jacobs@csueastbay.edu
Office: MI 4087
Vitae: View my CV

Walt Jacobs is a Professor of Ethnic Studies at 脱裤吧 Bay; he was Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs there from 2022 to 2023. Prior to these appointments he was a university dean for nine years: seven as the Dean of the College of Social Sciences at San José State University (2015-2022), and two as the Founding Dean of the College of Social Sciences & Professional Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (2013-2015). Before joining UW-Parkside he was on the faculty of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities for fourteen years, including five years as the Chair of the Department of African American & African Studies (2007-2012). He received his B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology (1990), and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in sociology from Indiana University-Bloomington (1995, 1999). In May 2022 he earned a certification as a Hudson life/executive coach.

Professional Focus

Black popular culture
race and ethnic relations
media literacies
critical pedagogy
scholarship of teaching and learning
technology and society

Education

Sociology Ph.D., Indiana University, 1999
Sociology M.A., Indiana University, 1995
Electrical Engineering B.S., Georgia Institute of Technology, 1990

Courses

Fall Semester 2025
Course #	Sec	Course Title	Days	Location
ES 245	02	Black Flix	ARR	WEB-ASYNCH
ES 346	01	Afrofuturism	ARR	WEB-ASYNCH
ES 389	01	Engage Coms Color	ARR	WEB-ASYNCH
ES 245	01	Black Flix	ARR	WEB-ASYNCH

Publications

Books

Jacobs, Walter R., Wendy Thompson Taiwo, and Amy August (eds). May 2021. Sparked: George Floyd, Racism, and the Progressive Illusion. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press.

Jacobs, Walter R. 2007. Ghostbox: A Memoir. New York: iUniverse.

Jacobs, Walter R. 2005. Speaking the Lower Frequencies: Students and Media Literacy. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Di Leo, Jeffrey R., and Walter R. Jacobs (eds.). 2004. If Classrooms Matter: Progressive Visions of Educational Environments. New York: Routledge.

Articles and chapters

Jacobs, Walter R. 2025. “You Don’t Have to be ‘Smart’ to be Successful in College.” Pp. 80-81 in Lettie Ramírez (ed.), You Got This: You Are Not Alone. El Monte, CA: Velázquez Press.

Jacobs, Walter R., and Elaine K. Jacobs. 2025. “Advice from a Provost and a First Year College Student.” Pp. 156-158 in Lettie Ramírez (ed.), You Got This: You Are Not Alone. El Monte, CA: Velázquez Press.

Tzeng, Christina, and Walter R. Jacobs. 2022. “Flashbulb Memories: Fictive Reconstructions of Lived Experiences.” Pp. 149-156 in S. Homan (ed.), Playing with Reality: Denying, Manipulating, Converting, Enhancing What Is There. New York: Routledge.

Jacobs, Walter R. 2021. “Preface: From Wonderful/Wretched Memories to Sparked Discussion of Racial Dynamics in Minnesota.” Pp. vii-x in W. Jacobs, W. Thompson Taiwo, and A. August (eds.), Sparked: George Floyd, Racism, and the Progressive Illusion. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press.

Jacobs, Walter R. 2021. “Blackasotan Identity Lanes.” Pp. 17-20 in W. Jacobs, W. Thompson Taiwo, and A. August (eds.), Sparked: George Floyd, Racism, and the Progressive Illusion. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press.

Jacobs, Walter R. 2021, Amy August, and Wendy Thompson Taiwo. “Conclusion: Where Will You Be on May 25, 2022?” Pp. 209-217 in W. Jacobs, W. Thomson Taiwo, and A. August (eds.), Sparked: George Floyd, Racism, and the Progressive Illusion. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press.

Lewis, Syressa L., and Walter R. Jacobs. 2017. “Learning and Teaching Digital Storytelling: A Student’s Journey into ‘Bravery Spaces.’” Perspectives on Undergraduate Research and Mentoring 6(1):1-14.

Troup, Patrick, and Walter R. Jacobs. 2014. “Huntley House: A ‘Post-Black’ Living-Learning Community for African American Men.” Pp. 240-248 in D. Mitchell (ed.), Intersectionality and Higher Education: Theory, Research, and Praxis. New York: Peter Lang.

Lambert, Joe, with Cheryl Diermyer, Liv Gjestvang, Walter Jacobs, and William Shewbridge. 2012. “Digital Storytelling in Higher Education.” Pp. 175-190 in Joe Lambert, Digital Storytelling: Capturing Lives, Creating Community, 4^th Ed. New York: Routledge.

Jacobs, Walter R. 2010. “Using Technology to Open Storytelling Doors.” EDUCAUSE Review 45(5):52-53.

Raimist, Rachel A., Candance M. Doerr-Stevens, and Walter R. Jacobs. 2010. “The Pedagogy of Digital Storytelling in the College Classroom.” Seminar.net 6(2):280-285.

Jacobs, Walter R. 2010. “The College Classroom as Pensieve: Putting Language, Power, and Authority to Productive Use.” Pp. 362-376 in J. Cobb and M. Kallus (eds.), Historical, Theoretical, and Sociological Foundations of Reading in the United States. New York: Allyn & Bacon.

Jacobs, Walter R. 2010. “Black Atlantic.” Pp. 66-69 in R. L. Jackson (ed.), Encyclopedia of Identity. Newbury Park, CA: Saje.

Jacobs, Walter R. 2010. “Speaking the Lower Frequencies 2.0: Digital Ghost Stories.” Pp. 1007-1013 in W. L. Linek, D. Massey, E. G. Sturtevant, L. Cochran, B. McClanahan, and M. B. Sampson (eds.), The College Reading Association Legacy: A Celebration of 50 Years of Literacy Leadership. Commerce, TX: Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers.

Jacobs, Walter R. 2010. “30 Years of Black Presidents.” Contexts 9(1):75-77.

Jacobs, Walter R., Jocelyn R. Gutzman, and David T. McConnell. 2006. “Teacher-Student Collaboration in the First-Year Experience.” Pp. 159-171 in D. Lundell, J. Higbee, I. Duranczyk, and E. Goff (eds.), Student Standpoints About Access Programs in Higher Education. Minneapolis, MN: Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy.

Barajas, Heidi L., and Walter R. Jacobs. 2005. “Reading, Writing, and Sociology? Developmental Education and the Sociological Imagination.” Pp. 355-368 in J. Higbee, D. Lundell, and D. Arendale (eds.), The General College Vision: Integrating Intellectual Growth and Student Development. Minneapolis, MN: Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy.

Jacobs, Walter R., Thomas J. Reynolds, and Gregory P. Choy. 2004. “The Educational Storytelling Project: Three Approaches to Cross-Curricular Learning.” Journal of College Reading and Learning 35(1):50-66.

Di Leo, Jeffrey R., and Walter R. Jacobs. 2004. “Place, Pedagogy, Politics: Reflections on Contemporary Classroom Reconfigurations.” In J. Di Leo and W. Jacobs (eds.), If Classrooms Matter: Progressive Visions of Educational Environments. New York: Routledge.

Bruch, Patrick L., Rashne R. Jehangir, Walter R. Jacobs, and David L. Ghere. 2004. “Enabling Access: Toward Multicultural Developmental Curricula.” Journal of Developmental Education 27(3):12-19, 41.

Di Leo, Jeffrey R., Amy M. Lee, and Walter R. Jacobs. 2002. “The Sites of Pedagogy.” Symploke 10(1-2):7-12.

Barajas, Heidi, Patrick Bruch, Gregory Choy, Carl Chung, Leon Hsu, Walter Jacobs, Amy Lee, Karen Miksch, Mark Pedelty, and Thomas Reynolds. 2002. “Interdisciplining Pedagogy: A Roundtable.” Symploke 10(1-2):118-132.

Jacobs, Walter R. 2002. “Using Lower-Division Developmental Education Students as Teaching Assistants.” Research and Teaching in Developmental Education 19(1):41-48.

Jacobs, Walter R. 2002. “Learning and Living Difference That Makes a Difference: Postmodern Theory and Multicultural Education.” Multicultural Education 9(4):2-10.

Jacobs, Walter R. 2001. “The Sci-Fi Anti-Dupe: Fiction TV as Teaching Tool.” Bad Subjects 57:35-36.

Pedelty, Mark H., and Walter R. Jacobs. 2001. “The Place of ‘Culture’ in Developmental Education’s Social Sciences.” Pp. 75-90 in D. Lundell and J. Higbee (eds.), Theoretical Perspectives in Developmental Education. Minneapolis, MN: Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy.

Jacobs, Walter R., and Dwight E. Brooks. 1999. “Using Strange Texts to Teach Race, Ethnicity, and the Media.” The Velvet Light Trap 44(Fall):31-38.

Hare, Sara C., Walter R. Jacobs, and Jean H. Shin. 1999. “Entering the Classroom from the Other Side: The Life and Times of Graduate Associate Instructors.” Pp. 507-516 in B. Pescosolido and R. Aminzade (eds.), The Social Worlds of Higher Education: Handbook for Teaching in a New Century. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

Jacobs, Walter R. 1998. “The Teacher as Text: Using Personal Experience to Stimulate the Sociological Imagination.” Teaching Sociology 26(3):222-228.

Brooks, Dwight E., and Walter R. Jacobs. 1996. “Black Men in the Margins: Space Traders and the Interpositional Fight against B[l]acklash.” Communication Studies 47(4):289-302.

Jacobs, Walter R. 1994. “Off the Margin: The Interpositional Stranger.” Symploke 2(2):177-194.

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