Dr. Manoucheka Celeste Named 2026-2027 UIC Institute for the Humanities Faculty Fellow
Introduction
The UIC Gender and Women’s Studies Program proudly celebrates Dr. Manoucheka Celeste, Associate Professor in Gender and Women’s Studies, on being named a 2026-2027 Faculty Fellow at the UIC Institute for the Humanities. This prestigious fellowship recognizes outstanding humanities scholarship and will support Dr. Celeste’s project, “When Black Women Wail: Communicating Citizenship in Life and Death,” which advances critical conversations on Black women’s lives, voice, and citizenship.
Dr. Celeste is a Black feminist communication and media scholar whose transnational and diasporic research examines representations of Black women, immigrants and immigration, and tourism, with a focus on the Caribbean and the broader African diaspora, particularly Haiti. Her publications include the book Race, Gender, and Citizenship in the African Diaspora: Travelling Blackness (winner of the 2018 National Communication Association Diamond Anniversary Book Award), and “‘What Now?’: The Wailing Black Woman, Grief, and Difference” in Black Camera.
In addition to her research, Dr. Celeste has made significant contributions to mentoring, creating and directing programs for first-generation students for nine years and receiving college-wide awards for mentoring and research mentoring. She also serves as a co-principal investigator for the Social Justice and Human Rights Cluster.
This well-deserved recognition reflects Dr. Celeste’s sustained commitment to feminist scholarship, mentorship, and liberation-centered research. The GWS Program is proud to celebrate her continued impact in advancing more just and liberatory futures!