Category: american literature

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+ african american literature, american literature, ernest j gaines, jesus christ, southern literature, temptation of Christ, the autobiography of miss jane pittman, Uncategorized

Miss Jane Pittman and the Temptation of Christ

by Unknown's avatar

After John the Baptist baptizes Jesus Christ in the gospels, Jesus goes into the desert for forty days and forty nights before beginning his ministry. During that time, Satan tempts Jesus three times with food, display of divination, and dominion over the world. Jesus does not succumb to these temptations, and he rebukes Satan with scripture, ultimately defeating him. As I read through Ernest … Read More Miss Jane Pittman and the Temptation of Christ

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+ a different drummer, african american literature, american literature, children of strangers, frank yerby, neh summer institute, southern literature, Uncategorized

Choosing Which Texts to Teach or Not to Teach

by Unknown's avatar

Talking about Lyle Saxon’s Children of Strangers (1937) recently during the NEH Summer Institute, two questions arose: Why should we even read this novel? Should we even consider teaching it? Both of these questions are very important to consider when thinking about whether or not one should “expose” students to certain texts. In this post, I do not want to justify whether or not … Read More Choosing Which Texts to Teach or Not to Teach

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+ a different drummer, absalom, african american literature, american literature, ernest j gaines, Uncategorized, william faulkner, william melvin kelley

Point of View in William Melvin Kelley’s “A Different Drummer”

by Unknown's avatar

William Melvin Kelley’s A Different Drummer (1962) is a fascinating book, not just for the story it tells but for the way Kelley presents that story. The novel’s plot is pretty straight forward, on the surface. An African American, Tucker Caliban, buys some land from the white family that him and has ancestors have worked for since the Civil War. After he buys the … Read More Point of View in William Melvin Kelley’s “A Different Drummer”

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+ african american literature, american literature, catherine carmier, ernest j gaines, fathers and sons, ivan turgenev, southern literature, Uncategorized

Ivan Turgenev’s “Fathers and Sons” and Ernest J. Gaines

by Unknown's avatar

From the very beginning, Ernest J. Gaines has made his indebtedness to Ivan Turgenev, and specifically Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons (1862) known. When Gaines entered the library for the first time in California, he did not find books by African American authors; instead, he discovered, amidst the rows and rows of bound texts, books by Russian, Irish, French, and American authors who wrote about … Read More Ivan Turgenev’s “Fathers and Sons” and Ernest J. Gaines

+ african american literature, alice walker, american literature, blues for mister charlie, epideictic, ernest j gaines, rhetoric, southern literature, Uncategorized

Epideictic Rhetoric and the Literature Classroom?

by Unknown's avatar

A couple of years ago, when I was solidifying the focus on my dissertation, several topics wandered through my head. One of those topics, which I wish to expand upon through further research, came about as I was preparing a paper for the 2012 Rhetoric Society of America conference. The paper, “Epideictic Rhetoric, Athletes, and Veterans: A National Discourse,” focused on the rhetoric surrounding … Read More Epideictic Rhetoric and the Literature Classroom?

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