Dr. Earl Holmes Brooks

Assistant Professor · Tenure-Track

Department of English Language, Literacy and Culture

College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

About

Earl Brooks is a musician and scholar with expertise in African American expressive culture and rhetorical studies. His forthcoming book, Resonance of Resistance, explores the rhetoric of black music, including ragtime, jazz, gospel, and the blues.

Research interests

rhetoric, composition, sound studies

Teaching interests

rhetoric, composition, sound studies

Education

  • Ph D, English — Pennsylvania State University (2017)
    On Rhetoric and Black Music
  • MS, English — University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (2012)
    Mother Africa: A Rhetorical Analysis of Various Topoi of Africa in Jazz and Literature
  • BA, American Studies — University of Kansas (2010)
  • BA, Music — University of Kansas (2010)

Publications

  • On Rhetoric and Black Music 2024 Wayne State University Press
  • Voices of Black Folk: The Sermons of Rev. A. W. Nix 2023 Journal for the History of Rhetoric · 26 (1) · pp. 110-113
  • The Stakes are High: Reflections on the Class Podcast Underwater and Underserved Sonic Abundance · Computers and Composition Digital Press · Accepted
  • Writing by Ear: The Language of Music in African American Fiction The Cambridge History of the African American Novel · Accepted

Performances and Exhibits

  • A Love Supreme: The (Rhetorical) Legacy of John Coltrane 2025 The College Board

Courses Taught

  • Seminar in Communication and Technology ENGL 493 · Spring 2019
  • Topics in CT: Sound Studies, What Social Justice Sounds Like ENGL 320 · Spring 2019
  • Texts and Contexts ENGL 300 · Spring 2019