As a kid, my mom would always encourage me to read. I read, yes, but it was never really anything that I did regularly. In fact, I really don’t remember much of what except that I read books like Judy Blume’s Super Fudge during elementary school or parts of Dante’s Inferno during high school. Nothing really stuck with me or had a huge impact … Read More Why Do I Read?
Recently, my daughter and I started a podcast, Classics & Coffee, where we drink coffee and discuss literature. We do five books per season, one joint selection and two book selections apiece. One of my books selections for season one was Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye. I chose this book, partly, because I am teaching it this semester. I also chose it because it pairs … Read More Think About the Children! Ban the “Filth” from Libraries!
+ african american art, african american literature, african americans, france, marseille, Pedagogy, study travel
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
+ 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?
Over the years, I have gone to multiple conferences from the Modern Language Association (MLA) conferences where I interviewed for jobs to more specific conferences such as the Catharine Maria Sedgwick conference in St. Louis, Missouri. I like conferences because they provide a space for individuals to connect and listen to individuals present their scholarship. However, I also despise conferences for their pretentiousness and … Read More The Importance of the College Language Association Conference
Interminable Rambling 