Professor Gow exemplifies passion for sociology, research & teaching | News

The life of Jamella Gow is one of passion and lifelong learning. 

Inspired by her own identity and past, the Gonzaga sociology professor specializes in research on Afro-Caribbean diaspora and the intersectionality of being racially Black and an immigrant in the U.S. At GU, she teaches courses on race and ethnicity, culture, immigration, Black studies and globalization.

“Identity is always changing and it’s radical and political and personal — it’s all of those things at the same time, and I like to explore that,” Gow said. 

Born to a military family in Houston, Texas, Gow moved frequently throughout her childhood. Soon after she was born, her family moved to California before eventually moving to north Florida. While both of her parents are immigrants from Jamaica, her childhood was spent driving from her home in north Florida to her family in south Florida.

Starting out as a physics and astronomy major at Texas Christian University (TCU), it was a science fiction course that sparked a new interest. 

“The way the professor taught it, he was almost exploring the sociology of technology and how we respond to it,” Gow said. “It made me think, ‘this is really cool, how do I do this.’ So I took a bunch of different social science classes and ended up in sociology.” 

As an English and sociology double major, many of her classes coincided with one other. One Irish literature class explored the history of Irish colonization alongside the literature being produced, a history of colonization Gow saw reflected in her own past. 

“I love sociology, and I love that it’s critical,” Gow said. “It’s looking at injustice and how we become the way we are, but literature is doing those kinds of explorations, too… we’re all just trying to figure out our existence.” 

It was TCU that introduced her to teaching, where she served as an English as a Second Language (ESL) instructor. Volunteering as an ESL instructor showed her the value of the connection that came from teaching and pushed her toward her current path. 

As her education progressed, Gow found herself enjoying the tough questions asked in sociology, sparking a passion for exploration through research. Merging her love of diverse literature with sociology led her to a cultural studies program at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) for graduate school. From the cultural studies program, which she described as similar to communication studies at GU, she learned more theory and theoretical approaches to cultural studies before returning to sociology to continue studying race. 

“The neat thing about research is that in some ways you’re doing what you do with teaching, except you’re telling more people,” Gow said. “What’s beautiful about academic writing is that you are both sharing these things with a larger audience and also adding your own creative spin to it.”

After finishing her Ph.D. in sociology with an emphasis in Black studies in 2020, Gow moved to Spokane to pursue her position as assistant professor in the sociology and criminology department. 

Currently in the midst of her second year, Gow is working on settling into academic life and publishing research. Her recent publication, “Reworking Race, Nation, and Diaspora on the Margins,” argues for the importance of diaspora in relation to globalized capitalism. 

Although she is a newer professor, Gow is heavily involved in GU campus culture. According to Dashane’ Fugate, a senior sociology and criminology major, Gow has been involved with many different student-related projects, her own independent research and has led events and discussions on campus. 

“Jamella is the second Black teacher I’ve had in my educational career,” Fugate said. “As a young Black woman myself who has attended educational institutions with small populations of Black folks, she has been instrumental in my development as a student and person.”

Gow and Fugate have grown close over the past year as Fugate prepares to graduate, discussing her career plans and ambitions. Gow has also supported Fugate in her work with Meals on the Margins, helping her grow further as a leader. 

“Jamella doesn’t just ‘talk the talk’ but she walks the walk…” Fugate said. “She helps make overwhelming feats seem attainable. She sees my potential, my passion and my humanity. Jamella is someone I want to be like one day and I’m so lucky to have gotten to know her this past year.”

Sydney Fluker is an A&E editor. Follow them on Twitter: @sydneymfluker.