Xavier Sivels

Xavier Sivels

Division

  • Identity: Gender, Race and Region

Classification

  • PhD Student

Title

  • Maroon & White Teaching Assistant

Xavier Sivels is a PhD student from Smithfield, Virginia. His areas of study are African American History, Queer studies, and Popular Music studies. His research looks at the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexual identity in African American popular music.

PhD Student, Department of History, Mississippi State University, 2014- May 2024 (expected)
Dissertation: “Freakish Man: Race, Sex, and Gender in Jim Crow”
Dissertation Committee: Joseph Thompson (Chair), Mark Hersey, Leigh Soares, Alexandra Hui
Fields: Modern America (Major field); Popular Music; African American History

BA, Virginia State University, Peterburg, VA, 2019
Major: History
Minors: Philosophy and Biology

2022

Mississippi History, Department of History, Mississippi State University.

2021

Early World History, Department of History, Mississippi State University.

2020

African American History, Department of History, Mississippi State University.

TA

 

2022

Modern World History, Department of History, Mississippi State University, Matthew Himel (Instructor), Spring Semester

2021

Early U.S. History, Department of History, Mississippi State University, Anne Marshall (Instructor), Spring Semester    

Early U.S. History, Department of History, Mississippi State University, Andrew Lang (Instructor), Fall Semester

2020

Early World History, Department of History, Mississippi State University, Julia Osman (Instructor), Fall Semester

 

Modern U.S. History, Department of History, Mississippi State University, Matthew Lavine (Instructor), Spring Semester

2019

Modern U.S. History, Department of History, Mississippi State University, James Giessen (Instructor) Fall Semester

Museums & Cultural Institution Experience

2021-Present Volunteer Archivist and Digital Collection Curator, Special Collections, Mississippi State University Libraries,
**Digital Humanities Project Forthcoming***
2014-15 Docent and Interpreter, 1750 courthouse Museum, Historic Smithfield Inc., Smithfield, VA

Public Writing

2022        “Black trans women face a unique threat rooted in centuries of history.” Washington Post, March 18.

2021        “Fear of A Black-Brown Planet: Pushing ‘Replacement Theory’ and Banning CRT to Save

                White Supremacy.” Mississippi Free Press, August 18.

Presentations

2022     “Metadata Musical: Perspectives on Digital Archives Management.” Society of Mississippi                       Archivists Annual Meeting, April 21.

            “Darktown on Tin Pan Alley: Race and the Early Popular Music Industry.” Charles H. Templeton Sr.

              Ragtime Music Festival, Mississippi State University Libraries, Mississippi State University, March

2022-2023  Advanced Doctoral Fellow, The Center for Black, Brown, and Queer Studies (BBQ+)

2022   Society of Mississippi Archivists Distinguished Student Presentation Award, Society of Mississippi Archivists Annual Meeting, Society of Mississippi Archivists.

2021   William E. Parrish Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award, Department of History, Mississippi State University.

2021- Present     Association for the Study of African American Life and History