Every semester, I ask students a series of questions to learn more about them and how to tailor my pedagogy. I usually ask them if they are a first generation college student, an athlete, if they work off campus, and various other inquiries that give me some information about them. After I ask them these questions, I break down their week, by time. I … Read More I Wish I Read More
+ ahmaud arbery, breonna taylor, ernest j gaines, george floyd, lillian e smith, politics, social justice
A few weeks ago, we had a protest in our small, rural town about the administration’s immigration policies. We gathered on the side of the road supporting our neighbors and participating in our right to freedom of speech. Before I went to the protest, I talked to a few people about going; however, they didn’t want to go because they were afraid of what … Read More We Must Act to Ensure Our Freedom
+ african american literature, bloodline, ernest j gaines, Literature, louisiana literature, the sky is gray
During my educational career, I sat in countless classroom regurgitating information back to the one at the head of the classroom who held my grades and my future in their hands. I felt, for the most part, disconnected from any of my experiences or reality. That does not mean that the information I learned did not relate to my life; it just means that … Read More “Critical Consciousness” and Pedagogy in Ernest Gaines’ “The Sky is Gray”
+ african american literature, catherine carmier, ernest j gaines, louisiana literature, of love and dust
This years marks some major anniversaries for some of my favorite writers. Earlier in the year I wrote about the 75th anniversary of Lillian Smith’s memoir Killers of the Dream, and she also has two other major anniversaries this year: the 80th of her debut novel Strange Fruit and the 70th of her next memoir The Journey. Along with these milestones, 2024 also marks the 60th anniversary of Ernest … Read More Ernest Gaines’ “Catherine Carmier” at 60
+ african american literature, american literature, ernest j gaines, gothic literature, louisiana literature, of love and dust, southern literature
Whenever I look I look at a list of the most important twentieth century American novels and novelists, the same names pop up again and again: William Faulkner, Harper Lee, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edith Wharton, Toni Morrison, Ralph Ellison. While each of these authors and their works are important, for various reasons, I do not see any of them as penning the quintessential twentieth … Read More The Most Important Twentieth-Century American Novel
Interminable Rambling 