Category: african american literature

The Pan-Mediterranean Marseille

We’re fully immersed in the “Black Expatriate Writers in France” course in the South of France. As I prepared for this course, I read all of the texts I’m teaching , and I also started to dive into other texts in preparation for the trip. Specifically, I reread Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo, and I finally read, even though it takes place … Read More The Pan-Mediterranean Marseille

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Why Did I Want to Teach a Black Expatriate Writers Study Travel Course in France?

I’m not sure when I started thinking about leading a study travel trip to France; I only know that I really started thinking about when I was on the job market following my graduation in 2014. In some of my cover letters, if I discussed study travel trips, I would always mention my desire construct a course on African American expatriate writers in France. … Read More Why Did I Want to Teach a Black Expatriate Writers Study Travel Course in France?

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Black Expatriate Writers in France Syllabus

Last year, a colleague and I proposed a study travel to Poland to study the intersections between Jim Crow and the Holocaust. Sadly, that trip failed to materialize, for a few reasons. This year, another colleague and I proposed a trip to the South of France, specifically Marseille and Nice. She will teach an environmental science course and my course will focus on African American … Read More Black Expatriate Writers in France Syllabus

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Art Serves as Reflection of Ourselves

What is the role of art in society? During the Harlem Renaissance, luminaries such as W.E.B DuBois argued that all art should serve as propaganda and should stem from classical traditions whereas others such as Langston Hughes sought to make art of and about the people, eschewing the position that art should be “lofty.” Throughout A Long Way from Home, Claude McKay addresses this … Read More Art Serves as Reflection of Ourselves

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The Dangers of Unquestioned Patriotism

For my “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité” course this semester, I’m teaching Claude McKay’s Romance in Marseille, a book that builds upon the action in his 1929 novel Banjo: A Story Without a Plot. I plan to teach Banjo in my study travel class, where we will travel to Marseille and Nice. Because of this, I chose to read Banjo recently in preparation for Romance in Marseille and for the study travel trip. As … Read More The Dangers of Unquestioned Patriotism