About

AJ Rice is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He specializes in Black Politics, Political Economy, and Education Politics. He earned his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 2020. His research focuses on issues related to Black political thought, the intersection of culture and politics within Black communities, and the political economy of marginalized groups. His work includes analyses of Black history, popular culture, and social movements, contributing to the understanding of Black political experiences and the significance of cultural expressions in shaping political identities and activism.

Research topics

• Sociology
• Political Science
• Law
• Political economy

Selected publications

• Closed for Democracy: How Mass School Closure Undermines the Citizenship of Black Americans. By Sally A. Nuamah. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2022. 240p. $90.00 cloth, $29.99 paper.

  Perspectives on Politics · 2024

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Political Science
  • Sociology
  • Political Science

  An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.

  DOI

• Moving from measurement to governance of shared groundwater resources

  Nature Water · 2023 · 43 citations

  • Business
  • Water resource management
  • Environmental science
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Political Economy and the Tradition of Radical Black Study

  Souls · 2020 · 12 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Political Science
  • Political economy

  A central concern of the Black Intellectual Tradition (BIT) since the close of the nineteenth century has been the explicit connection between the historical and structural development of the world capitalist economy on the one hand, and on the other, freedom struggles forged by African descendants. This dynamic, interwoven relationship, according to some critical observers of history, illuminates a key dimension of the modern Black experience.1 While Black Studies inherited this distinct political economic tradition, the status of political economy frameworks in the field is marginal. Because Black communities have produced a unique political economy tradition borne from necessity, study, and an incessant will toward freedom, this tradition must occupy a greater role in the work and practice of Black Studies. As a contribution toward that vital goal, I will introduce and analyze several key concepts, theories, and debates that have animated the radical Black political economy tradition. Based on my brief reflections on the lives, work, and politics of several radical Black scholar-activists within and beyond the U.S., I conclude by discussing how their ideas can serve the transformationalist vision of Black Studies.

  DOI

Frequent coauthors

• Charisse Burden-Stelly

  1 shared

• Rita Kiki Edozie

  1 shared

• Ricky L. Jones

  University of Houston

  1 shared

• Cedric Johnson

  1 shared

• Lester K. Spence

  Johns Hopkins University

  1 shared

Similar researchers at University of California, Santa Barbara

• Craig Hawkerh-169
• Richard Mayerh-147
• Guillermo C. Bazanh-141
• Steven P. DenBaarsh-124
• Kenneth S. Kosikh-120