Contact: Robbie S. Ward
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A prominent African American literary authority and former president of the Modern Language Association of America is helping highlight Mississippi State's "Talking about Books" series during February.
As part of the university's Black History Month observance, the 10:30 a.m. public program Feb. 7 featuring Houston A. Baker Jr. will focus on African American issues and history. The presentation in Mitchell Memorial Library's John Grisham Room will focus on his book, "I Don't Hate the South: Reflections on Faulkner, Family, and the South" (Oxford University Press, 2007).
Baker, who holds the rank of Distinguished University Professor at Vanderbilt, is MSU's 2011 African-American Studies' Scholar-in-Residence. The Louisville, Ky., native will be on the Starkville campus Feb. 7-11 to help encourage a greater dialogue among students, faculty and the general public on race, literature and other issues.
Stephen Middleton, director of MSU's African-American Studies program, said Baker's visit will afford campus and local communities several opportunities to interact with a nationally recognized leader in a critical field of study.
"He's one of America's most prominent and well-published literary scholars," Middleton observed.
Additionally on the 8th, Baker will speak at 6 p.m. in Lee Hall's Bettersworth Auditorium during another public program. His topic: "Transatlantic Real Estate: Diaspora and Richard Wright's Expose of Western Property Grabs." He will hold a book signing for 45 minutes prior to the beginning of his address.
Baker's numerous awards and honors include Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships, resident fellowships at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences and the National Humanities Center, and honorary degrees from a number of colleges and universities throughout the nation.
In addition to a bachelor's degree from Howard University, he completed master's and doctoral degrees from the University of California at Los Angeles.
Also during February, three MSU faculty members will lead related discussions at the Mitchell Memorial Library's John Grisham Room on books they have selected. These public programs include:
--1 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 1. Donald Shaffer, assistant professor of English, discussing "The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African-American Literary Criticism," by Henry Louis Gates.
--3 p.m., Feb. 17. Anne Marshall, assistant professor of history, on Chana Kai Lee's "For Freedom's Sake: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer."
--11 a.m., Feb. 28. Stephen Middleton, leading an examination of "Who Speaks for Margaret Garner?" by Mark Reinhardt.
For more information about Mississippi State University, visit www.msstate.edu.