The TCU Department of English celebrates Kelly Franklin, who was chosen by the faculty members of our Graduate Program Committee to be this year's recipient of the Linda K. Hughes Fellowship. The fellowship will continue to support her interdisciplinary work that she has developed out of a prior award, the Community Literacies Collaboratory Seed and Growth Grant, involving her research in public humanities and community-based scholarship. Within the broader field of Black girlhood studies, Kelly's research is grounded in critical narratives including Ruth Nicole Brown's Hear Our Truths: The Creative Potential of Black Girlhood (2013); Janeka Bowman Lewis's research on the interiority of Black girlhood;  and Aimee Meredith Cox’s Shapeshifters (2019).

 

Combining English studies with storytelling and narrative studies, Kelly intends for her work to "function as a restorative site for lost stories and become a gateway to recover buried and/or unbelievable tales," with "the impact of this research [offering] critical insights into Black girls’ narratives from the South" while also "[advancing] Black girlhood literacies."

Kelly Franklin is a doctoral student in English Rhetoric and Composition.  After graduating from UCLA with a degree in American Literature, she taught English at the K-12 level in California and Texas.  Kelly later earned a Master’s degree in English Literature from Boise State University, where she focused on ways the Gothic mode became a vehicle for oppressed groups to story tell, including the enslaved and formerly enslaved.  Her current work at TCU centers around Black Feminism and Black Girlhood Studies.  Kelly is also a wife and mother of 4 beautiful children, all who keep her motivated and inspired.