Category: american literature

+ african american literature, american literature, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, jim crow, reach records, sho baraka, talented tenth, the bluest eye

Why do we read literature?; or, Questions from the Classroom

by Unknown's avatar

During a class discussion last week on Ernest Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River,” a student asked, “Why do we read literature? Why do we read Hemingway?” I provided a generic answer and tried to get the class to respond with their own ideas. This method completely failed. I told the class, “I cannot give you a definitive answer to that question.” I went on to … Read More Why do we read literature?; or, Questions from the Classroom

+ african american literature, american literature, august wilson, fences, great migration, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post

August Wilson’s "Fences" and the American City

by Unknown's avatar

With the announcement that Denzel Washington would  be starring in one and producing all ten of August Wilson’s Pittsburgh cycle, I thought it would be fitting to do a brief post on Wilson’s Fences. Plenty of scholars have focused on the failure of the American Dream and the integration of sports in the play; however, I do not want to focus on what Troy … Read More August Wilson’s "Fences" and the American City

+ a long day in november, african american literature, american literature, araby, dubliners, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, irish literature, james joyce, southern literature

James Joyce’s "Dubliners" and Ernest J. Gaines

by Unknown's avatar

Last week, I led a discussion on the influence that James Joyce had on Ernest J. Gaines. I have written about this before, briefly, on the Ernest J. Gaines Center’s blog. There, I wrote about the reference to Joyce in Gaines’s A Lesson before Dying. Throughout his career, Gaines has espoused the ways that authors like Joyce provided models for his own writing. He … Read More James Joyce’s "Dubliners" and Ernest J. Gaines

+ american literature, assassin's creed iii, frederick jackson turner, grand theft auto iv, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, los angeles times, playing history 2-slave trade, red dead redemption

Video Games in the Literature Classroom

by Unknown's avatar

Recently, Playing History 2-Slave Trade has received attention here in the U.S. for its depiction of the Middle Passage and the slave trade. The game, developed by Danish company Serious Game drew attention because of section of the game that people have dubbed “Slave Tetris.” Essentially, players must stack Africans into a ship’s hull in preparation for the Middle Passage in a manner similar to the classic … Read More Video Games in the Literature Classroom

+ african americans, american literature, bastard out of carolina

Dorothy Allison’s "Bastard Out of Carolina"

by Unknown's avatar

It’s been a little while since I read Kaye Gibbon’s Ellen Foster, but I remember the relationship between Starlette and Ellen. A relationship like that does not appear in Dorothy Allison’s Bastard Out of Carolina, but what does exist is the presence of African Americans in a mitigated role as the “other” in relation to the Boatwright family. Two scenes in particular grabbed my … Read More Dorothy Allison’s "Bastard Out of Carolina"

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