page_title: Glenda R. Taylor
section_title: Doctoral research
hierarchical_section_title: Glenda R. Taylor / Career and Blind Light / 2001 - Present: Redefining the Vision / Doctoral research
caption_attribution_description: English: Graduation Photo
context_page_description: Glenda R. Taylor is an American scholar, writer, poet, and cultural historian.
context_section_description: Taylor's dissertation is titled: Tradition, Consciousness, Social Justice, and the Creative Process: An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Study of the Artistry of Michael Joseph Jackson (1958-2009). The first extensive academic research study done on the artistry and creative process of Jackson explores if Jackson (in the African American cultural tradition) consciously used his art forms, his voice, his arena to promote social change.The dissertation deconstructs his evolving consciousness, unveils his creative process, and decodes his songs and short films based upon his unique perspective. 
  Taylor discusses how scholars began the discourse on Jackson and his impact on American popular culture over three decades ago; yet, there remains a growing, but paltry number of peer reviewed articles on Jackson, and the books written from an academic perspective are scant. She reveals that the primary voices in the field of Jacksonian research are Susan Fast, Harriet Manning, Willa Stillwater, and Joseph Vogel, explaining that Fast, Stillwater, and Vogel are pioneers in the analysis of the artistry of Jackson.
  Taylor's research offers an antithetical approach to analyzing Jackson's artistry by delving into his religious foundation and unearthing an artistic voice rooted in a Judeo-Christian ideology. It unveils a prolific creative process nurtured by his parents and refined by his quest for perfectionism. It discovers an artist who believed in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Beloved Community and vigorously endeavored to use his artistry to promote individual agency and social change. Finally, it concludes by proffering a distinctive interpretation of Jackson's artistic work. 
  Over the years, Taylor has interviewed diverse artists such as Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Cissy Houston; Tony Award-winning choreographer, playwright, and dancer George Faison; award-winning authors and educators Louise Meriweather, Nettie Jones, and Elizabeth Nunez; screenwriter and poet Sophia Steward;  scholar, academician, and integral theorist Toni Gregory; award- winning public servant, activist,  and founding Director of the Dr. Martin Luther King Studies Specialization (Ph.D.) program, Dr. Nancy Boxill; fashion designer Alvin Bell, and biblical scholar and author Firpo Carr among others. She, also, had the opportunity to speak to patriarch Joseph Jackson about the secrets of his family's success.
caption: Glenda R. Taylor meets the Honorable Portia Simpson Miller at her graduation.
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