On Mike Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and Mothering in the Academy The recent slayings of unarmed Black men and children in the US has rendered the country breathless. I can’t breathe. The world has heard and replayed these words millions of times over the last few weeks. The people can’t breathe. As a university[…]
Dear all, This month’s guest editorial has been written by Concepción Parrondo Carreter. A native of Malaga, Spain, she is an academic scholar whose focus of research centers on Contemporary African American Literature, an area in which she explores the theory of difference from an intersectional perspective. Ms. Parrondo lived for twenty seven years in[…]
On the other side of the tracks: reflections upon the Old South. To be a stranger in a strange land has its advantages. Having moved to the US at the age of 21, I had the opportunity to take in experiences with an open mind and a full heart. At the beginning, we went to[…]
“No Writer’s House for James Baldwin” This editorial has been inspired by some thoughts and writing I have been chasing following my return visit, last June, to James Baldwin’s house, Chez Baldwin, in St. Paul-de-Vence in the south of France. Baldwin wrote about his last abode in a short piece published in the Architectural Digest[…]
For many colleagues at German universities, the month of July brings the end of our teaching and presence in our classrooms because our summer term is over. July includes also the subsequent marathon of grading papers and exams. I am sure that many of you can relate to the thoughts that go through one’s mind[…]
La Rochelle, Liverpool, and the World On the occasion of the world soccer championship, I could not but pay attention to the French newspaper L’Equipe’s headlines which use history as the main metaphor and marker to talk about the balance of power between the nations involved in the competition. The presence of teams from Old[…]
Dear all, this month’s guest editorial has been written by Yannick Blec. Yannick is a PhD student at the Université Paris-Est – Marne-la-Vallée, presently writing his dissertation about the visions of African American identities in William Melvin Kelley’s works. It consists of an analysis of phenomenological, ontological and black existential conceptualizations entitled Le Blafringo-Arumerican dans[…]
From a minority to another Two weeks ago, I was triflingly listening to some of my students’ conversation in high school. Because it was at the end of the last class before the spring break, I allowed myself to drift away into one of those lengthy and amusing talks that are so dear to teenagers.[…]
Finding VertaMae Smart-Grosvenor: American Icon. Culinary Griot. Citizen of the World The Making of a Lowcountry Documentary I first met VertaMae Smart-Grosvenor in 2011 when she attended The Avery Research Center’s celebration of Julie Dash’s iconic film, Daughters of the Dust. Having seen her work in Daughters and Oprah Winfrey’s production of Beloved, I was[…]
White Women Too. The film « 12 Years A Slave » won the Academy Award for best motion picture, becoming the first movie directed by a black director to take the highest trophy at the Oscars. It also claimed best adapted screenplay for John Ridley and best supporting actress for Lupita Nyong’o. Besides the Hollywood celebration and[…]
