Author Toni Morrison used fictional narratives to make readers uncomfortably aware of their collective role in perpetuating the culture of poverty and pitying its victims. In her first novel, "The Bluest Eye," she focused on the most vulnerable member of society -- a child -- to depict the consequences of extreme social isolation and…

Teaching and reading literature are commonly viewed as contributing to the cultivation of empathy. This article presents critical and pedagogical approaches to test this view and suggests a distinction between low-level, simple empathy inspired by the reading and teaching of "The Tortilla Curtain" and a more complex, self-critical…

I examine the formation of power as it relates to canonicity through online delivery systems, Amazon and Goodreads, and the academic sector in the contemporary period. The digital age has radically changed literature by providing for a textuality of literature that is multi-channeled, and this project responds by engaging new critical lenses for…

American publishers have published numerous children's books about Barack Obama over the past several years; most take the form of informational biographies. This article reports on a research project aimed at how these books incorporate sociohistorical narratives, particularly those related to the civil rights movement. Though the features of the…

One reason zombie films are so frightening, and perhaps so popular, is because zombies represent a unique type of monster. Rather than frightening people because they are so alien to the world as people understand it, zombies are horrifying in how closely they resemble people. Zombies are people and represent the potential of zombie…

Focusing on "The Sheep and the Whale" ("Le mouton et la baleine," 2001) by Moroccan-Canadian playwright Ahmed Ghazali, this essay examines political and ethical issues concerning human migration from Africa to Europe. The play's representation of human rights abuses in the Strait of Gibraltar and the dilemmas facing illegal…

The theme of this symposium was the classic concern about the rhetoric-poetic relationship as applied to modern communication problems. In the first paper, "The 'Vision' of Martin Luther King," Edwin Black postulates that Dr. King contributed to the development of a "revolutionary literature" because of his impact, not only on…

Discusses two recent novels that employ techniques more familiar to science fiction than to historical fiction to probe questions of history and authenticity. Considers how these novels expose the way that those who attempt to bear witness to the history of slavery are ostracized, pathologized, and even institutionalized. (SG)

This critique of Gerald Horne's book, "Black and Red," points out the confusion, disorganization, errors, and omissions which make itdifficult to read and understand. However, the importance of the book is its contribution of raw material to the knowledge about Du Bois during his last fifteen years. (VM)

This essay examines Jefferson's Summary View of the Rights of British America as evidence of his craft as a storyteller. Specifically, I argue that Jefferson deploys a series of narrative renderings, the rhetorical effect of which is to eliminate the possibility of any genuine reconciliation with the English government. On the basis of this…

This syllabus or teacher's guide to the life and works of Dr. W.E.B. Dubois has the following organization. An introductory section provides eulogies and tributes from important black and white leaders focusing on his stature as an educator, editor, sociologist, historian, statesman, social prophet, and race leader. The main body of the syllabus…

The literature of the Negro Renaissance needs to be re-examined from the purview of the pervasiveness of the conflicts apparent in such literary themes as the tragic mulatto, the glorified and idealistic African past, the alienation from American culture, and an implied, and at times overt, self-hatred. The Renaissance literature reflects the…

This paper is a broad study of the field of black American Literature which outlines the important movements, stereotypes, and trends that have had significant influence upon the literature. The changing stereotypes and archetypes of blacks depicted in American literature from the early concept of blacks as "chattels" to the contemporary concept…