Dr. Kourtney Senquiz is a Visiting Assistant Professor at Clark University. Her research specialization is in African American literature, culture, and intellectual history. She received her Ph.D., M.A, and B.A. from the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Also, she earned a M.A.T. at Elms College and studied at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Early in her educational career, Dr. Senquiz studied at the prestigious Kokrobitey Institute in Ghana. During this time, she developed a love for service while volunteering as a reading and writing tutor for the children in the community. Soon after her return to Massachusetts, she transferred to UMass Amherst and applied to study abroad at the University of Ghana in Legon. During this second trip to Ghana, she helped launch Madamfo; a program that encouraged international students to volunteer their time to tutor and raise educational funds for the children of Medina in exchange for university credits.
After receiving her B.A. at UMass, Dr. Senquiz worked as a public-school teacher while earning her M.A.T. It was during this time that she joined the MTA and CEA to work as a Political Action Leader. Her work as a Political Action Leader (PAL) included speaking engagements alongside Chicago teachers during a collective bargaining summit. Soon after, Dr. Senquiz joined forces with Educators for a Democratic Union and advocated for a New Business Item (NBI) to eliminate discrimination in the public school system. The successful passing of the NBI during the MTA Annual Meeting lead to the implementation of a task force on race in Massachusetts.
Currently, Dr. Senquiz’s research focuses on the African American Gothic, specifically the Gothic Double. Although historically placed in binary opposition, the racial double connects whiteness to Blackness and expands the field of critical race theory. Although her current project focuses on the 19th century African American Gothic, her work is relevant to current real-time concerns of race relations and makes connections to issues such as restorative justice, reparations, and restitution for slavery and Jim Crow segregation which complements her activist work.