Nolonda Jones, assistant professor of interior design, published her research “Alternative Reality Creation as Liberatory Ideology” in the book Upkeep, Repair, and Maintenance in Adaptive Interiors (Routledge, 2025). 

“This research looks at the influence of the Bantu-Kongo worldview, an ancestral ideology of African Diasporic people, in the lives of enslaved Africans in the southern United States from 1619 to 1864,” she said. 

“Many of the spaces that sustained enslaved communities were temporary, hidden, or undocumented. This research explores how people created meaningful places for gathering, ritual, and community beyond formal structures, broadening how we understand space and placemaking in the built environment,” Jones said.

Through the exploration of five recurring acts of alternative reality creation: Conjuring in Cabins, Hush Harbor Rituals, Borderland Marronage, Hinterland Marronage, and Insurrections, Revolts, and Rebellions of the enslaved, Jones examines the role of memory, identity, and world-building as they relate to the formation of a liberatory ideology of the enslaved. 

“This research analyzes the approaches the enslaved took to maintenance and adaptability of sites that were temporary by design. By showcasing the importance of these hidden spaces in the lives of the enslaved, the research makes the case for studying adaptable interiors beyond the walls of the built structure.” 

The volume explores issues of repair, maintenance, sustenance, and adaptation within the context of interior design and its histories, according to Routledge. 

“The contributions to this volume celebrate critical analysis of past and present work as well as potentials for upkeeping the built environment, sustaining our histories and cultures, and maintaining our shared resources as we face radical shifts in the ways in which we inhabit the various spaces where we work, live, convene, cross, and connect. Chapters recognize the ways in which the interior has defined, reinforced, hidden, and protected servitude and repair. They offer an appreciation of the role of interiors to extend the lives of our architectures and the human interactions they sustain,” said editors Amy Campos, Deborah Schneiderman, Keena Suh, and Karyn Zieve. 

“This will be of great interest to all students and academics of interior design, as well as architecture, architectural conservation, visual culture, history of art, and all those interested in the theory and philosophy of the reuse of interiors.” 

Upkeep, Repair, and Maintenance in Adaptive Interiors first edition was published by Routledge in November 2025. 

Jones, PhD DIP, is an assistant professor in the LSU School of Interior Design. She received a B.S. from Florida A&M University and an MFA in interior architecture from Columbia College Chicago, with a concentration in art-based community development. 

Interested in the intersection between design, social change, and culture her professional life has been an exploration of the ways in which these topics inform one another. In 2016 she moved to Nairobi, Kenya and completed a fellowship in Social Innovation Management at the Amani Institute. While in Kenya, she explored art-based social change and helped create community-led initiatives ranging from cultural preservation in the Maasai Mara, arts education programs, and product development with artisans working in traditional art forms. She continues to find opportunities to bring awareness to the importance of cultural heritage protection. Jones is currently pursuing her PhD in Cultural Anthropology at LSU, with a focus on the ecologies and material culture of underrepresented communities. 

Learn more about the LSU School of Interior Design.