Even though the study travel trip I and a colleague planned this semester for Poland will not happen, I’m continuing to read and learn more about World War II and the Holocaust specifically. Part of this process has been teaching works such as Cynthia Ozick’s The Messiah of Stockholm and Art Spiegelman’s Maus in my Multicultural American Literature course. Along with this, I have … Read More The Quotidian in Art Spiegelman’s “Maus”: Part I
Recently, my essay, “I Have a Secret,” appeared in Down Yonder ‘Zine, and Adam Jordan asked me some questions about the essay on Twitter. I wrote this essay back in the summer of 2020 following the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery and the accosting of Christian Copper in Central Park as he was birdwatching. It is one of the most … Read More Writing “I Have a Secret”
+ american history, christianity, civil war, history, religion, white jesus: the architecture of racism and religion and education, white supremacy
About a year ago, I was in a book club where we read discussed White Jesus: The Architecture of Racism in Religion and Education. During our conversations, we learned about The American Patriot’s Bible, edited by Dr. Richard G. Lee. The Patriot’s Bible, as the subtitle says, shows “The Word of God and the Shaping of America,” clearly marrying the United States to a … Read More White Supremacy and The American Patriot’s Bible
+ american history, civil rihts, history, james dombrowski, lillian e smith, southern conference for human welfare
During the LES Studies course this semester, we have started talking about whether or not Lillian Smith deals with class in her examinations of the psychological effects of racism. We have talked about Smith’s commentary on the wedges that wealthy whites, those in power, drive between individuals beneath them and the ways that these wedges, coupled with the rhetoric of demagogues, serves to sustain … Read More The Heart or the Pen?
+ arab american literature, identity, Malaka Gharib, mohja kahf, syria, the girl in the tangerine scarf, toufic el rassi
Recently, someone told me about an exercise that a professor had his class do during seminary. The professor told the class to talk to someone within their social sphere who they knew but did not really have a relationship with apart from maybe a passing acquaintance. The students had to, before speaking with the person, write down their preconceived notions about the individual. After … Read More “What are you?”: Part III
Interminable Rambling 