Alexis McGee, Associate Professor, School of Journalism, Writing, and Media, has been awarded the 2026 Winifred Bryan Horner Outstanding Book Award by the CFSHRC for her monograph From Blues to Beyoncé: A Century of Black Women’s Generational Sonic Rhetorics.
The prestigious award from CFSHRC (Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric & Composition), is presented biennially in even years for work in the field of composition and rhetoric to recognize exceptional scholarship and research in the areas of feminist pedagogy, practice, history, and theory.
From Blues to Beyoncé significantly amplifies Black women’s ongoing public assertions of resistance, agency, and hope across different media from the nineteenth century to today. Published in 2024, following a sold-out launch event held at UBC, the book has continued to influence studies of how Black women have used sound to convey stories and forge community across generations.
“I am beyond thrilled and honoured to receive this award”, said Dr. McGee. “The Winifred Bryan Horner Outstanding Book Award is such a well-respected and well-recognized award in my field Rhetoric and Writing Studies. It feels like a dream to have my research in sound and feminist rhetorical praxes be recognized.”
“I am beyond thrilled and honoured to receive this award ... It feels like a dream to have my research in sound and feminist rhetorical praxes be recognized.”
“This is a richly deserved recognition of the rigour and impact of Dr. McGee’s work,” said Dr. Kamal Al-Solaylee, JWAM Director. “From Blues to Beyoncé is such an intellectually expansive book in the way she covers different media over three centuries and encourages readers to look at how anti-Black rhetorics have persisted but have also been resisted and challenged by Black women.”
Drawing from an interdisciplinary background, Dr. McGee engages with rhetoric, composition/writing studies, Black studies, critical pedagogies, sound studies, and women and gender studies. Her research focuses on Black women’s rhetorical uses of voice, literacies, and expression.
