+ audre lorde, books, claude mckay, Hughes Micol, Loo Hui Phang, margaret atwood, omar el akkad, reading, s.a. cosby
For the past few years, I have set various reading goals for myself. I initially did this to keep myself on a schedule with reading because I know that if I have a goal to reach, I will do my best to reach that goal. I started off small, with a bar of 60 or so books a year, and once I hit that, … Read More What Did I Read in 2025?
+ claude mckay, lillian e smith, Palestine, rashid khalidi, reading, the stone face, william gardner smith
Each semester, I inevitably share my musical tastes with students. This may arise when I play background music while students do some in class writing, or it may arise when we discuss a specific topic and that topic reminds me a song. This semester, I shared with students some of my musical tastes, specifically my love for punk, hardcore, and metal. Their initial reaction, … Read More How Do You Choose What to Read?
+ african american art, african american literature, african americans, claude mckay, france, james baldwin, Pedagogy, syllabus, william gardner smith
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?
+ african american literature, claude mckay, france, james baldwin, jessie fauset, syllabus, william gardner smith
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
+ a long way from home, african american literature, american literature, art, claude mckay, france, harlem renaissance, Literature
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
Interminable Rambling 