Category: neh summer institute

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Some Pedagogical Takeaways from the NEH Summer Institute

Part of this post appears in “‘I think Aladdin looked kinda white’: Teaching Cultural Projection in the Classroom” on the Pedagogy and American Literary Studies’ blog. The links throughout provide more insight into the technique being discussed.  During the NEH Summer Institute, Ernest J. Gaines and the Southern Experience, pedagogy was a big topic of discussion. Throughout the institute, the visiting lecturers and scholars shared with … Read More Some Pedagogical Takeaways from the NEH Summer Institute

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My Trip to Whitney Plantation

A couple of weeks ago, I finally had the opportunity to go to the Whitney Plantation in Wallace, LA. I have written about the Whitney before and some of its history; today, I want to focus on my experiences at the Whitney and how those experiences differed from what I encountered at other plantations and historical museums. Before I delve into this discussion, I … Read More My Trip to Whitney Plantation

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Choosing Which Texts to Teach or Not to Teach

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

Horses, Manhood, and Power in Ernest J. Gaines

When Django and Dr. King Schultz ride into Daughtrey, Texas, near the beginning of Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained (2012), the white townspeople freeze, staring in shock at an African American riding a horse next to a white man driving a carriage. Django does not drive the carriage, as would be expected of an African American servant or slave. Django rides through the streets on … Read More Horses, Manhood, and Power in Ernest J. Gaines

Paul Laurence Dunbar NEH Summer Institute

Paul Laurence Dunbar’s Grave at Woodland Cemetery in Dayton For the past three weeks, I have had the privilege of taking part in an NEH Summer Institute entitled “Paul Laurence Dunbar & American Literary History.” Before beginning the institute, my only knowledge of Dunbar came from the Norton Anthology of African American Literature and a couple of other sources. There, all that appears from … Read More Paul Laurence Dunbar NEH Summer Institute