First week of new school year went well. As I revise my present manuscript, I smile at the hoopla in Alabama over tomorrow’s University of Miami and University of Florida game. I am a Miami alum, having attended when we were first winning national championships. Above is a picture of my second dorm room. I… Continue reading new school year and The U
I just made this image my desktop screensaver. It is a still from Julie Dash’s 1991 film Daughters of the Dust, which chronicles the experiences of a Gullah family who live on a “sea island” off the coast of Georgia. Most of them are preparing to move inland to cities to enhance, in their best… Continue reading survive
There have been many tributes to Toni Morrison in the past week following her passing at age 88. This excerpt from my dissertation, which spawned Remember Me to Miss Louisa , my first historical monograph, is one way of also acknowledging Morrison’s legacy on my own work: “[The newly freedwoman Avenia] White’s uneasiness might have also… Continue reading rest in peace, toni morrison
As printed elsewhere, I recently learned that I will be able to travel to Cuba as part of my university’s Cuba initiative. It will be a wonderful chance to push my thinking on my spatial politics research, which was initially conducted during an artist residency in Blonduos, Icelandin 2017. There, I made art with other artists while… Continue reading cuba-bound
As I count the hours until tonight’s broadcast of the 1974 motion picture Claudine on Turner Classic Movies with Ava Duvernay introducing, I am still thinking of TCM’s recent broadcast of Julie Dash’s 1991 Daughters of the Dust. Duvernay also introduced that beautiful film, which I will show in my Antebellum America class this fall.… Continue reading daughters and claudine
I am feeling summer. A visit to the The Rivermarket – a.k.a. the farmer’s market – always leaves me energized. The taste of local produce is a reminder of how blessed we are. These are as sweet as any peach I have ever tasted. The colors of this food are also uplifting. They bring memories of… Continue reading summer feels
I love maps. Always have. Today I am looking at ones addressing the Battle of New Orleans as one way of prepping for my “Antebellum America” class, which meets 3-5:30pm each Thursday beginning August 22. Andrew Jackson’s unlikely victory in New Orleans against the British anchors our attention to the stories we tell ourselves about… Continue reading musings
