Welcome!
Photo: Westchester University Welcome to ENGL 2055, African American Literature! I am very excited about sharing the next several weeks with you all. This semester is shaping up to be an informative and enriching one, and I have a lot to share with you, so let's get started. First, allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Julie Lester, and I am an associate professor of English here at Southwest. I have been teaching at the College for eight years, and before that, I earned my doctorate in African American Literature from the University of Memphis. Why did I choose this subject? I was inspired by several of my college professors to read and study the work of Zora Neale Hurston (whom you will hear a lot about this course), and to read her most acclaimed novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God . Immediately I was drawn to her as a kindred: a familiar, and I was struck with the notion that we are all very much alike--regardless of a 'little pigmentation' (1). For me, Hurs...