Digital Humanities Club: Week 7

During our session on October 25, the high school students worked on audio editing tasks. The setup was slightly different as the high school students moved around to different stations working with various college students, as opposed to staying in one place.

Amelia Williams noted that one a benefit of working with more than one student was the possibility of learning "their personalities and watching them put the different music and poems that they liked together." Tiara made a similar observation. "I was able to get to know a little more about each student," she said. "And I also felt a sense of comfort with each student that I worked with. I could tell that they were comfortable and enjoying what we were doing."

Gaige Crowell realized that an advantage of working with multiple students on a common task was that he reinforced the knowledge for himself. "I started to form the questions better as I repeated myself more," he said. "So towards the end of the hour, I explained the task as detailed as possible."

Week #7 reflection from graduate student, Rae'Jean Spears:

This week’s meeting with the East St. Louis Charter school was great. We had a girl join the group of boys we have been working with every week. She brought a new energy to the group and shifted the atmosphere. The key thing that stood out to me was her willingness to actually show her excitement at her ability to create new audio files. I’m looking forward to seeing what she will continue to bring to the group.

Related:
• The East St. Louis Digital Humanities Club

Reginald Harris's "The Lost Boys" and Collegiate Black Men

This semester, no poem has meant more to the students (all first-year black men) in one of my African American literature courses than Reginald Harris's "The Lost Boys: A Requiem." So far, we've read several poems. However, when I gave students the option to select just one poem to concentrate on for the first major writing assignment, nearly all of the students chose that one poem.

"The Lost Boys," published in Harris's volume Autogeography (2013), provides a run down of various boys and young men primarily from the speaker's community who moved away, lost their lives, or lost their way for a variety of reasons. For example:

Jamie killed in a hit and run, aged 10
Wayne--fell from a project window, age 14
Keith--fell off a bridge at 17 (or was he pushed?)

The poem catalogs men who were "lost to AIDS," and there are references to boys and men involved in homicides, as perpetrators and victims.

Harris is from Baltimore. The majority of the guys in my class are from Chicago, with some from St. Louis, and still others from different places in Illinois. Age, geography, and other factors separate them from Harris. Yet, the poem and the list of lost ones bring the poet and the students together.

The young men have thought of the many lost black boys and men before, but Harris provides us with a blueprint for chronicling things. Few poems that I am aware of catalog the names and circumstances of black boys and men in the specific way that "The Lost Boys" does. Harris mentions guys with nicknames like Tee-Tee, Bam-Bam, and Little Man. Of course, many of my guys are from various communities knew boys with those same names. Harris calls out the names of guys who are "behind bars," and of course my guys could call out names of guys they know who are behind bars.

And the homicides. I've written about homicide for some time now. In 2016, according to an annual report from the FBI, black boys and men made up 45% of all homicides in the United States. That is, 6,749 of the total 15,070 homicides were black males. The percentage was virtually the same in 2015. If you have connections to black boys and men, chances are you could unfortunately derive a catalog like those compiled by Harris, my students, and me.

Before and after we read Harris's poem, we had conversations about struggles of black boys and men. Still, "The Lost Boys" really helped organize and crystallize our discussions. Not all of the losses mentioned in the poem are clear-cut either. Some of the losses remain mysteries. For example, Harris writes,

Joe, not dead, only resting
Nathan, not lost, just gone
Troy, not gone, just not here

Not knowing what happened to so many of the "not gone, just not here" guys lingered with us most during our discussion of Harris's poem.

Related:
• A Notebook on Reginald Harris
• Returning, yet again, to Reginald Harris's "The Lost Boys"
• Drawing Connections, Reading Reginald Harris's "The Lost Boys"

Black girls and book preferences

On October 18, during our conference for high school black girls, we hosted a free book fair. The only price for the book was the completion of a note card where students explained why those chose the book that they did. The books included novels, volumes of poetry, and trade paperback comic books.

Here are some of the various comments that students provided:

• "I picked this book because I saw someone who resembled me on the cover."*
• "I love poems so much much. Giovanni's hits my soul."
• "This book, Kindred looks very interesting, and I would love to read it."
• "I really think Kindred is going to give a great story from a black woman's point of view."
• "I like it because every thing she's saying the book is what's going on now."*
• "I like this book [Ironheart/Riri Williams) because she's capable of anything and is inspiring."
• "Olio, I like this book because it's about poetry and I like poetry so there may be poetry in the book that I can relate to."
• "I picked this book because I like the name of it--Brown Girl, Brownstones."
• "I picked the book "Storm" because I read a bio about Storm and the way she can have control of the weather sounds cool."
• "I like Nikki Giovanni, and I really love poetry."
• "I chose Kindred because I read it before, but I never had my own copy."
• "I chose Kindred because it seemed like a really good book. Reading the back book cover really caught my interest."
• "It has a beautiful young black woman on the cover."*
• "I want this book because I've heard it was a good book."*
• "Sister Outsider - cause the writer is black and different than the rest."
• "We read a poem by Nikki Giovanni, which attracted me to this book. It seems to have so much depth."
• "I love things Rap / Hip Hop, so the history and progression of artists over the years caught my attention. I'm also a rapper so it definitely caught my eye."
• "I picked this book because it looked like an interesting book to read."*
• "I saw a black woman on the cover. Sister Outsider."
• "I liked it because this book seems empowering."*
• "I want this book Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur because it seems very interesting, and I am glad that the main character is a black girl, and she seems very courageous."
• "I picked Brown Girl Dreaming because it is a book filled with poems."

Note: * connotes that the student did not state the book she selected.

The books at the fair included:

• Brown Girl, Brownstones
• The Hate You Give
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
• Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation
• Brown Girl Dreaming
• Invincible Iron Man: Ironheart Vol. 1: Riri Williams
• Moon-Girl and Devil-Dinosaur Vol 1
• Storm Volume 1: Make it Rain
• Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal

Related:
• The Language Arts & Leadership Conference, Fall 2017

A roundup of African American Male Initiatives

Given my long-term work with African American men students at my university, I've been inclined to take note of African American Initiatives coordinated by universities across the country. The Initiatives are usually designed to provide support networks -- including mentoring, tutoring, and academic counseling -- for African American men.

What follows is a roundup of some of the programs:

• African-American Male Initiative - St. Louis Community College
• African American Male Initiative - Louisiana Tech University
• African American Male Initiative - University of Akron
• African American Male Research Initiative - University of Texas at Austin

• African American Male Initiative - Sinclair College
• African American Male Scholars Initiative - St. Louis University
• African American Men of Arizona State University - Arizona State University

• African-American Male Initiative - University of Louisville
• Black Male Initiative - Harris Stowe State University
• Black Male Initiative - University of Virginia
• Black Male Initiative - Southern Illinois University Carbondale
• Black Men's Forum - Harvard University
• Boosting Bronco Brothers - Fayetteville State University
• CUNY Black Male Initiative - City University of New York
• Black Male Initiative - California State University Northridge
• Black Male Initiative - University of Central Oklahoma
• Black Male Initiative - Florida State University
• Hooks African American Male Initiative - University of Memphis
• GT-PRIME - Georgia Tech
• African-American Male Initiative - An Initiaitve of the University System of Georgia
• Minority Male Success Initiative - North Carolina Community Colleges
• Mizzou Black Men’s Initiative - University of Missouri
• Striving Black Brothers Coalition - Chabot College

Related:
• A Notebook on Collegiate Students

Haley Reading Group: Digging Through the World’s Oldest Graveyard

[The Best American Science and Nature Writing (2015)]
By Cynthia A. Campbell

Amy Maxmen’s article “Digging Through the World’s Oldest Graveyard” highlights paleoanthropologists Zeresenay Alemseged and Berhane Asfaw’s expeditions to locate fossils and human skeletal remains in Ethiopia. Maxmen illuminates the discovery of and process of dating the human remains found. Ultimately, the article speaks to Ethiopia being this significant geographical region in understanding the evolution of humans.

Maxmen’s discussion of Ardi (Ardipithecus ramidus) was especially enlightening. At one point, Maxmen notes that “the analysis took 15 years and 47 researchers to paint a full picture of…and her surroundings” (184). This point indicates the intricacies and painstaking efforts of thorough research.

After reading Maxmen’s article, what was one point concerning the various species discovered that caught your attention? Why was that point or passage important to you? Please provide a page number citation.

Digital Humanities Club: Week 6

High school student Jaylen Jenkins and Gaige Crowell edit materials on Audacity.

On Wednesday, October 18, the high school students continued working with Audacity, as we'll do for the next few weeks. We're working our way up to producing audio projects. First, however, we want to sharpen our skills editing.

"The more we expose the students to audio editing," noted Gaige Crowell, "the more they'll be likely to either show their friends or build upon their knowledge and try more new things." He observed that "a couple of the boys were adding new elements to their recordings, and some were still trying to perfect what they had already learned."

"Something I considered about the high school students concerning audio editing or audio production," pointed out Tiara Perkins, "is that if the students focus on one specific part of audio editing and or production they will have a better understanding of what they need to know." She also noted the importance of the students "just playing with different things to see what they like and how to incorporate different pieces to their own audio production."

Amelia Williams offered suggestions on how to approach our next session. "Audio production would be more beneficial for the student if they had a specific goal to reach while working on Audacity," she stated. In addition, Jayla Howard suggested that we should avoid letting the students get too comfortable working with just one undergraduate. "We should switch it up" and have the students "move around a little," noted Jayla.

Week #6 reflection from graduate student, Rae'Jean Spears:

This week’s meeting with the East St. Louis Charter school went well. They seem to really be enjoying having the freedom to be creative with the auto samples. It seems like they have different interests so it would be interesting seeing them have to work together to create something. I look forward to seeing how their creativity will be stretched when given a specific task to complete.

Related:
• The East St. Louis Digital Humanities Club

Rae'Jean Spears: the critical facilitator and conversationalist

Rae'Jean Spears facilitates a conversation about superheroes with students at Language Arts Conference

The past two weeks have been especially busy for my graduate assistant Rae'Jean Spears. First, last week, she joined me in facilitating discussions with several groups of students about their extracurricular learning activities. On the weekend, she led a small group of students through the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, as part of the annual trip to the museum sponsored by the SOAR office at SIUE.

From late last week to this week, Rae'Jean met one-on-one with approximately 50 first-year African American college students concerning their upcoming writing assignments. And then on Wednesday, for our Language Arts & Leadership Conference, Rae'Jean facilitated group discussions with 45 high school black girls about superheroes. During those sessions, she sought out students to talk one-on-one.

Rae'Jean talks one-on-one with student about superheroes  

All in all, Rae'Jean has been one of the most critical facilitators and conversationalists for young people involved in our academic programming. Large numbers of undergraduates and high school students hear and learn from her perspective on the world.  At the same time, she listens to and learns from their perspectives.

Rae'Jean Spears and Amelia Williams talk with high school student for after-school DH program.

On Wednesdays, she contributes to our East St. Louis Digital Humanities Club. She  contributes to discussions about technology with the high school students and makes observations. Just as important, she's constantly participating in discussions with the undergraduate team leaders.  Finally, she produces weekly reflections on the activities of the program.

Who knew that a graduate student in literature would facilitate so many large and small group conversations with African American undergraduates and high school students?

Related:
• The Language Arts & Leadership Conference, Fall 2017

Language Arts and Leadership conferences

For the last few years, I've worked with colleagues, college students, and grad students to coordinate a series of conference for high school students.

• The Language Arts & Leadership Conference, Fall 2017
• The Language Arts & Leadership Conference, Spring 2017
• The Language Arts and Leadership Conference, 2016
• The Language Arts and Leadership Conference, 2015

That anti-bullying moment from comic book Superb

This semester, I'm coordinating a small study group with students from the SIUE/East St. Louis Charter High School. The project focuses on comic books--Noble and Superb. Working with younger readers helps me see what we're covering in new, useful ways.

When I first read Superb #1, I moved past a moment that I now return to with more focus. Early in the story, there's a moment when Kayla, one of the protagonists, stands up for her friend Jonah who's being bullied. Initially, the scene did not register in a strong way.

However, responses from high school students shifted my interests. When asked what stood out to them about issue #1  of Superb, nearly all of the students mentioned the scene with Kayla preventing Jonah from being bullied. The moment apparently struck a chord with the high school students.

In retrospect, it makes sense. All across the country, large numbers of students report being bullied or witnessing some form of bullying at their schools. Thus, students coming across that scene in Superb would no doubt take special notice. Receiving feedback from the students on that scene gave me a renewed appreciation for what it would mean to them.

Related:
• East St. Louis study group focusing on comic books
• A notebook on comic books

A free book fair for black girls

One of my signature events over the last several years has been the book fair. I first became particularly interested in bookstores in my late teens, and I've managed to maintain that interest for quite some time. One way to share that interest is by coordinating events that showcase books.

For our fall Language Arts & Leadership Conference yesterday, I coordinated a book fair, with assistance from a group of my students. The high school black girls who attended seemed to really enjoy the book fair.

[Related: Black girls and book preferences]

The items at the book fair included novels, biographies, comic books, and volumes of poetry. The students were most interested in the novels and comic books. They were especially interested in novels and comic books about black girls and women. One of the favored works, which blended novels and comic books, was the graphic novel version of Octavia Butler's Kindred.

Related:
• The Language Arts & Leadership Conference, Fall 2017
• A Notebook on bookstores, book collections & book fairs

Comic book heroes and black girls

We coordinated a session on comic book heroes during our fall Language Arts & Leadership Conference. The session included a small display on heroes--Storm, Spectrum, Oracle, and Riri Williams. The purpose was to expose the students to heroic characters and highlight the science and technology behind their powers.

Rae'Jean Spears facilitated the activities, with assistance from a group of undergraduate volunteers. The high school students observed the display panels on comic book heroes, and talked about which characters they would be interested in taking on if given the chance.

Rae'Jean Spears facilitates discussion with students about comic book characters

Several of the students mentioned their interest in Storm. Her ability to fly, they said, was especially appealing. Some of the girls also highlighted Riri Williams, noting that her engineering knowledge and ability to attend M.I.T. at an early age were quite impressive.

One of my colleagues Matthew Johnson, Curriculum Specialist at the STEM Center at SIUE, helped me produce the panels on the superheroes by providing observations concerning the science and technology behind some of the superpowers presented in the panels.

Related:
• The Language Arts & Leadership Conference, Fall 2017

Scenes from the Language Arts & Leadership Conference, Fall 2017

We held our fall Language Arts & Leadership Conference on October 18. What follows are a few images from the day's activities.

Cindy Reed, black girls, and poetry

Rae'Jean Spears facilitates discussion.

Cindy Reed, black girls, and poetry

I've lost count of how many times Cindy Reed has led poetry presentations and workshops for us over the years. I'm grateful, though, that I can keep depending on her.

Today, she led a workshop for our fall Language Arts and Leadership conference for high school black girls. Cindy's workshop prompted participants to investigate how black women’s poetry imagined black girls on the page and how those images prompted them to explore their real life experiences. The high school students analyzed poetry and addressed some of the reasons why black girls represent themselves in the ways they do both in poetry and in person.

The high school students really enjoyed workshop. Some of them noted that the poetry was interesting, and just as important, Cindy affirmed the young women throughout the session.

After the workshop, Cindy observed:

I was fascinated about how the young sisters readily opened up and talked about their own experiences after reading poetry that reflects the images of black girls and women. In fact, the discussion got so good, we ran out of time. This demonstrated two significant things: black girls need more exposure to literature they can see themselves in, and they crave safe spaces in which they can discuss issues and ideas related to their black girl identities.

Related:
• The Language Arts & Leadership Conference, Fall 2017

The Language Arts & Leadership Conference, Fall 2017

Today, we'd hosted our first fall Language Arts and Leadership Conference at SIUE's Lovejoy Library. The conference involved workshops on poetry and a viewing and writing activity focused on comic book heroes. 45 high school black girls participated.

I've coordinated arts and humanities conferences each spring for the last few years. The subject matter and participants for this conference was different.

Poet and scholar Cindy Reed led workshops on poetry. My graduate student Rae'Jean Spears facilitated an activity that involved a small display on comic book heroes. We had lunch at noon--generously funded by the Black Studies Program and the East St. Louis Action Research Project. Finally, we closed with a book fair. The books were made possible by our Leadership Forum project.

Related:
• Cindy Reed, black girls, and poetry
• Scenes from the Language Arts & Leadership Conference, Fall 2017
• Comic book heroes and black girls
• A free book fair for black girls
• Rae'Jean Spears: the critical facilitator and conversationalist
• Black girls and book preferences

----------------
• Language Arts and Leadership conferences

Haley Reading Group: “Why Are Sports Bras So Terrible?”

[The Best American Science and Nature Writing (2016)]

Cynthia A. Campbell

Rose Eveleth’s article “Why Are Sports Bras So Terrible?” focuses on the problems associated with creating comfortable sports bras. Eveleth illuminates the evolution of sports bras. Ultimately, the article speaks to the original purposes of sports bras—to provide support and comfort for breasts during exercise and while participating in sports—and how that has changed because of the fashion industry.

Eveleth’s discussion of breast-science workshops was especially enlightening. At one point, Eveleth notes that "representatives [of different brands] learn ways bras can be designed to help reduce pain" (49). This point indicates that scientific research of sports bras is as influential as the fashion industry’s marketing.

After reading Eveleth’s article, what was one point concerning how sports bras are developed or advertised that found especially intriguing? Why? Please provide a page number citation.

Digital Humanities Club: Week 5

High school students and team leader Tiara Perkins work with Audacity.

On Wednesday, October 11, the high school students worked with Audacity – an online editing software program. The students took time utilizing the program and tried experimenting with the kinds of effects that they could add to audio files.

Our team leader Gaige Crowell talked to two of the high school students Ryan and Jaylen about their experiences work with the program. Ryan said that “There's a lot you can do to sound using Audacity. You can change the pitch and make things sound cooler.”

Jaylen told Gaige that the program “helps me realize that there is a lot of things you can do to audio.” He said he had first heard about Audacity from his older brother.

Team leader Amelia Williams talked to high school student Tyreese about his experiences participating in the various activities in the program.

“I found out that using technology can be really complicated sometimes,” said Tyreese. “I also discovered that there are a lot of things you can do with technology that I was not aware of. “

When team leader Tiara Perkins talked to student Louis about his experiences participating in the program, he discussed his future aspirations. The experience of working with the audio editing program “made me want to become a game designer,” he said. “Audacity especially made me think of game designing because I'm working with different voices.”

Week #5 reflection from graduate student, Rae'Jean Spears:

This week’s meeting with the East St. Louis Charter school was maybe the best we have had thus far. The students were able to take audio samples and edit them however they saw fit. It was really cool to see how each student chose to alter the poems. I look forward to watching students express their creativity in similar ways in the weeks to come.

Related:
• The East St. Louis Digital Humanities Club

Black Poetry: A Timeline, 1773 - 2017

Here's a partial, developing timeline on the histories of black poetry:

1773: Phillis Wheatley's Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral is published.
1829: George Moses Horton's The Hope of Liberty is published.
1854: Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's volume of poetry Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects is published. 
1864: Frances E. W. Harper's poem "Bury Me in a Free Land" is published in Liberator, January 14.
1893: Paul Laurence Dunbar's first collection of poems Oak and Ivy is published.
1895: Alice Moore's Violets and other tales is published.
1896: Dunbar's Lyrics of Lowly Life are published.
1900: "Lift Every Voice and Sing," written by James Weldon Johnson, is performed for Booker T. Washington.
1905: John Johnson, brother of James Weldon Johnson, sets "Lift Every Voice and Sing" to music.
1912: Claude McKay's Songs of Jamaica and Constab Ballads are published.
1913: Fenton Johnson's first volume A Little Dreaming is published.
1918: Georgia Douglas Johnson's The Heart of a Woman is published. "The Heart of a Woman."
1919: The NAACP adopts "Lift Every Voice and Sing" as "The Negro National Anthem."
1919: Claude McKay's "If We Must Die" is published in the July issue of Liberator. 
1921: Langston Hughes's "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" is published in the June issue of The Crisis magazine.
1922: The Book of American Negro Poetry, edited by James Weldon Johnson, is published.
1922: Claude McKay's Harlem Shadows is published.
1923: Jean Toomer's Cane is published.
1925: The New Negro, edited by Alain Locke, is published.
1925: Countee Cullen's first volume Color is published.
1926: Langston Hughes's first volume The Weary Blues is published by Knopf.
1926: Langston Hughes's "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain" appears in the June issue of The Nation. 
1932: Sterling A. Brown's Southern Road is published.
1937: Margaret Walker's "For My People" is published in the November 1937 issue of Poetry magazine.
1942: Margaret Walker's For My People,  recipient of the Yale Series of Younger Poets award, is published.
1945: Gwendolyn Brooks's A Street in Bronzeville is published by Harper & Row. 
1945: A version of Robert Hayden’s “Middle Passage” is published in the journal Phylon (Vol. 6, No. 3 3rd Qtr., 1945).
1945: Another version of Hayden’s “Middle Passage” is published in Cross Section 1945.
1947: Melvin B. Tolson named poet laureate of Liberia.
1950: Gwendolyn Brooks is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for her volume Annie Allen (1949). 
1959: Gwendolyn Brooks's "We Real Cool" is published in the September issue of Poetry magazine.
1962: Third published version of Hayden’s “Middle Passage” is published in his volume A Ballad of Remembrance.

The rise of black journalists during those eight years

Nikole Hannah-Jones, recent recipient of MacArthur Foundation Grant

Scholars of African American literature typically focus their energies on analyzing the works of novelists, poets, and other creative artists. We cite the works of historians and other literary scholars. Those important focal points, however, may have led us to slightly underestimate the rise of an emergent group of black writers over the last several years, and during the eight years of Barack Obama's presidency in particular.

In his book We Were Eight Years in Power, Ta-Nehisi Coates contends that "Barack Obama is directly responsible for the rise of a crop of black writers and journalists who achieved prominence during his two terms." Coates points out that "these writers were talented—but talent is nothing without a field on which to display its gifts. Obama’s presence opened a new field for writers, and what began as curiosity about the man himself eventually expanded into curiosity about the community he had so consciously made his home."

Some of the journalists that Coates likely had in mind include Nikole Hannah-Jones, Jelani Cobb, Trymaine Lee, Yamiche Alcindor, Wesley Morris, Rembert Browne, Wesley Lowery, Jenna Wortham, Jamelle Bouie, and Kelefa Sanneh. Isabel Wilkerson, another black journalist, published her expansive and award-winning book The Warmth Of Other Suns (2010), during this time period as well. Melissa Harris-Perry became most visible during the Obama years, and during that time, the sports journalist Jemele Hill began making a name for herself on ESPN.

Of course, it wasn't simply Obama, as the aforementioned writers produced work preceding that presidency. Still, those years were crucial, even when the subject wasn't Obama. Lee really first established his national visibility as he covered the terrible killing of Trayvon Martin. Several other journalists became more widely known as they covered Mike Brown and police brutality. Lowery, for instance, was part of a team of Washington Post reporters who earned a Pulitzer Prize for creating a database to track police shootings.

Developments in online media no doubt played a role in the accessibility and circulation of works by journalists on Facebook and Twitter. Coates's blogging during the Obama years was vital to the large following that he gained and nurtured prior to his most well-known writings, "The Case for Reparations" and Between the World and Me.

African American literary studies will necessarily continue to maintain its primary focus on the works of novelists, poets, short story writers, and playwrights. However, some consideration of the growing capabilities of black journalists might also be in order.

Related:
• Black intellectual histories

Haley Reading Group: The Big Kill

[The Best American Science and Nature Writing (2015)]

Elizabeth Kolbert’s article “The Big Kill” concentrates on New Zealand’s troubles with invasive mammals diminishing native fauna, which endangers native birds and kiwi. Kolbert raises the issue of exterminating some mammals for the purposes of conserving native wildlife, and how human migratory patterns throughout history have led to some mammals being brought to different parts of the world. She explores the large task of eliminating invasive species, since humans will continue traveling and shipping goods from country to country, thus leading to invasions from various mammals.

Kolbert’s focus on humans hunting and killing invasive mammals to protect native wildlife and New Zealand’s national identity was fascinating or alarming, depending on your point of view. What did you think? How did the article enhance or reshape how you thought about what it means to protect wildlife? Please provide a page number citation, where necessary.

Taking a look at Evie Shockley's books

I've just started reading Evie Shockley's newest volume of poetry, semiautomatic. Reading her most recent work, of course, sent me back to her previous volumes a half-red sea (2006) and the new black (2011), and her scholarly book Renegade Poetics: Black Aesthetics and Formal Innovation in African. American Poetry (2011). I'm aware she's published chapbooks too, but I'm still working to get my hands on those.

Taking a look at Shockley's books means exploring some visually stimulating cultural artifacts. The cover of her volume a half-red sea showcases Maria Entis's "Red Sea," and the new black includes Deborah Dancy's Caged. The volume also includes photographs by poet and photographer Thomas Sayers Ellis. The cover of Renegade Poetics has Elizabeth Catlett's sculpture Homage to Black Women Poets, 1984. This newest book, semiautomatic features artist Norman Lewis's Confrontations on the cover, and a few pages inside the book includes sketches by artist Alison Saar.

Illustrations by Alison Saar

There are a few connections between the artists Shockley selected and books by Elizabeth Alexander and Marilyn Nelson. For instance, Catlett's The Black Woman Speaks (1970) appears on the cover of Alexander's The Black Interior (2004). There's also a familial connection. Black Girl's Window (1969) by Betye Saar adorns the cover of Alexander's American Blue (2006). Betye Saar is the mother of Alison Saar.

[Related: The African American and African artwork adorning Elizabeth Alexander's books]

Nelson's book The Freedom Business: Including a Narrative of the Life & Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa (2008), is illustrated by Deborah Dancy. The cover of Nelson's Faster Than Light: New and Selected Poems, 1996-2011 (2012), also includes an image by Dancy.

There's an important visual quality to the interior of Shockley's books as well. She sometimes presents words all across the page. The physical dimensions of a half-red sea, the new black, and semiautomatic, which are wider than most volumes of poetry, ultimately support the expansive arrangement of Shockley's presentation of poems.

I've read enough of Shockley's works over the years to know that it'll take me a while to adequately grasp all the references and routes that comprise semiautomatic. I began reading the new black when it was published in 2011, and I still don't feel like I've fully absorbed everything. I suspect something similar will occur as read and reread this new book.

Further, I'm sure I'll be inclined to look for and pinpoint some of the connections between semiautomatic and Shockley's previous works. There's also the matter of thinking about how her poems here correspond to the writings of various other poets. Taking a look at Evie Shockley's books is always about these ongoing processes of looking and looking again.

Related:
• Evie Shockley
• A short checklist of African American poets on artworks & artists
• Black Female Figures & Poetry Book Covers
• The African American and African artwork adorning Elizabeth Alexander's books

Conversations about technology with black boys

High school student conversing with project team leaders--Gaige Crowell and Rae'Jean Spears 

I was really pleased with the kind of one-on-one attention and then small group experience that the high school students received last week during our after-school program. Each of the undergraduate team leaders worked with a single student, and my graduate student Rae'Jean Spears moved back and forth working with the various students. Where else can black boys receive extended moments to discuss technology with African American undergraduates and a graduate student like that?

Black boys are usually talked at, and it often occurs in large groups. They are given instructions. They are given warnings. They are told what not to do to avoid trouble. But a discussion of media journalism and electronic devices and flat lays and podcasts?

Team leader Amelia Williams discussing a flat lay with high school student

When and if they receive one-on-one attention, it often involves some aspect of remediation or tutoring. Those kinds of approaches serve all kinds of important purposes. They're crucial. But then, so is something like what I've been witnessing with our after-school program.

I recruited undergrads and a grad student that I enjoyed conversing with well beyond this program. I figured that the high school students, too, would benefit by working with these wonderful conversationalists. So far so good.

But how do you coordinate a program like this on a larger scale? Maybe it's too early to even consider future, larger steps. First, I'd like to talk more with the high school students and the college students and see what they think the benefits are. From there, we might gather some ideas about what improvements and extensions to make going forward. For now, I just wanted to make sure I took note of these recent interactions, which caught my attention.

Related:
• The East St. Louis Digital Humanities Club

Digital Humanities Club: Weekly reflections

Each week Rae'Jean Spears, a graduate student working with our digital humanities club, produces reflections about the activities.

Week #12 reflection:

Twelve weeks of the East St. Louis project have come and gone. Throughout all of the changes with the Digital Humanities Club over the semester, the experience has proved to be a great one. From working with students who thought technology was “boring” or “only for men” during week one of the club to having students excited about coming back from winter break to continue working with audio editing speaks volumes within itself. From the excitement conveyed through the students, I can only wonder if we’ve begun to cultivate one of the creative geniuses of the future.

Week #11 reflection:

The East St Louis project went well. It seems as if the initial excitement of being able to mix poems with music has worn off. While the students are still excited, they are not as easily moved by their recordings just “sounding cool.” Instead, this week I noticed that they were a little quieter and spent more time paying attention to the details of the recordings. If this pattern of concentration on detail continues, I am sure they can produce some quality samples by the end of the year.

Week #10 reflection:

Each week of the program I walk away saying it was the best week so far; but this week of the program was definitely the best so far. Last week, the students had an opportunity to choose what instrumentals they wanted to see included as options for this week. The result: pure excitement. The East St Louis students were so excited that the SIUe students working in the same library as us stopped their schoolwork and began inquiring about what we were doing with the program. After this week, I am certain that if the students walk away with nothing else from this program, which I am sure they will, they will walk away confident of their ability to create art that is worthy of being praised.

Midterm reflection (excerpt):

So far, the Digital Humanities Club has proved to provide teachable moments for both us and the East St. Louis students. While the students have been learning about Audacity and how to edit audio files, we have been learning to be willing to adjust based on the desires and needs of the students.

Week #7 reflection:

This week’s meeting with the East St. Louis Charter school was great. We had a girl join the group of boys we have been working with every week. She brought a new energy to the group and shifted the atmosphere. The key thing that stood out to me was her willingness to actually show her excitement at her ability to create new audio files. I’m looking forward to seeing what she will continue to bring to the group.

Week #6 reflection:

This week’s meeting with the East St. Louis Charter school went well. They seem to really be enjoying having the freedom to be creative with the auto samples. It seems like they have different interests so it would be interesting seeing them have to work together to create something. I look forward to seeing how their creativity will be stretched when given a specific task to complete.

Week #5 reflection:

This week’s meeting with the East St. Louis Charter school was maybe the best we have had thus far. The students were able to take audio samples and edit them however they saw fit. It was really cool to see how each student chose to alter the poems. I look forward to watching students express their creativity in similar ways in the weeks to come.

Week #4 reflection:

This week’s meeting with the East St. Louis Charter school went well. A few new, young scholars from the Charter school joined the program and offered new insight to ideas we had already been discussing. For example, one of the young men shared how he wanted to work with animations when he got older so that he could create videos on social justice to circulate on social media. I’m looking forward to continue to having conversations such as these with students and learning how they see themselves as future change agents.

Week #3 reflection:

This week’s meeting with the East St. Louis Charter school students was interesting. We were given the opportunity to talk to a couple of the students one-on-one and get their honest opinions about the program thus far. I noticed two things: we shared similar long-term goals for the overall project, and their idea of technology revolves solely around computers. I’m interested if these understandings of technology will broaden outside of computers as we continue.

Week #2 reflection:

This week’s meeting with the students from the East St. Louis Charter school went well. The students were given an opportunity to discuss technology in ways that they don’t normally do. I noticed that while we are in very technically advanced society, there is not much knowledge or engagement with technology outside of cell phones. I’m interested to see how students’ perception of technology and how they can incorporate it more effectively in their own personal lives will change over the semester.

Week #1 reflection:

Our first session with the students for the East St. Louis Digital Humanities Club was great. We completed an audio scavenger hunt where the students were given the opportunity to learn new skills with using audio recorders. I really enjoyed how the students immediately tried to add their creativity to the activity by suggesting other questions that they could add to the list. I'm interested to see how they will continue to use their voices in offering suggestions and creative input throughout the semester.

Related:
• The East St. Louis Digital Humanities Club

Digital Humanities Club: Week 4

Team leader Amelia Williams talks with high school student

On October 4, we worked on flat lays with the high school students. Flat lays are images of a selection of items photographed from above. We gave the students opportunities to arrange and then photograph electronic devices and African American books for their flat lays. The purpose was to give students a chance to think about arrangement decisions and to produce recordings discussing their rationale. In future activities, we'll work with students edit the audio recordings that they produced.

Gaige Crowell noted that he and the student he worked with had noticed flat lays before but had never known there was a name for them. The student said that "he had seen similar pictures of iPads set up against a background for a picture in a magazine, but he didn't know the term for those kinds of pictures." Amelia Williams thought the activity was useful because it could expose students "to different forms of technology they can use in the future, and other careers related to how the technology is made, or how it is used from day-to-day."

High school student and team leader Tiara Perkins work on flat lay

Tiara Perkins observed that "one thing I found most interesting while working with the students this week is how much they like technology and would like to use it as often as they can. Not only for texting or social media which is what you would think their minds would be obsessed with but for things like listening to music and playing different games."

Week #4 reflection from graduate student, Rae'Jean Spears:

This week’s meeting with the East St. Louis Charter school went well. A few new, young scholars from the Charter school joined the program and offered new insight to ideas we had already been discussing. For example, one of the young men shared how he wanted to work with animations when he got older so that he could create videos on social justice to circulate on social media. I’m looking forward to continue to having conversations such as these with students and learning how they see themselves as future change agents.

Related:
• The East St. Louis Digital Humanities Club

Public Thinking Event on Group Work

On October 4, our Public Thinking Event concentrated on the benefits and limits of group work. It's a topic that can get students going, as by and large students often have negative responses to the notion of collaborative work. For the event, they were prompted to respond to a couple of questions about their positive and unfavorable experiences at the universities working with others.

I've long been fascinated by the aversion to group work among students in classroom contexts while at the same time taking note of their deep interests in the results of collaborative projects -- such as music, film, sports, and so forth -- in society. At what moments, however, have students had their most rewarding experiences doing group projects at the university? What has led them to have many negative experiences? Those were the kinds of questions they explored together at the event.

Related:
• Fall 2017 Programming

Haley Reading Group: “They Helped Erase Ebola in Liberia. Now Liberia is Erasing Them”

[The Best American Science and Nature Writing (2016)]

Cynthia A. Campbell

Helene Cooper’s article “They Helped Erase Ebola in Liberia. Now Liberia is Erasing Them” focuses on the fate of young men charged with cremating the bodies of the Ebola dead. Cooper illuminates the disruption of the young men’s lives. Ultimately, the article speaks to the ostracism faced by those tasked to dispose of the most infectious carriers of Ebola.

Cooper’s discussion of the backlash faced by the men in charge of disposing and burning of the diseased bodies was especially enlightening. At one point, Cooper notes that “families shunned them as they pursued their grim work” (21). This point indicates the inflexibility of the mores/beliefs held by Liberians regarding cremation.

After reading Cooper’s article, what was one point concerning the plight of the burners that most moved you? Why was that point or passage moving to you? Please provide a page number citation.

Preparing to read Colson Whitehead and Ta-Nehisi Coates with collegiate black men

Next semester, I'm teaching a course that will feature works by Colson Whitehead and Ta-Nehisi Coates -- two writers whose works I've thought and written about for over a decade now. Though their early works were what first caught my attention, my students -- all first-year collegiate black men -- and I will cover Whitehead's Underground Railroad (2016) and Coates's We Were Eight Years in Power (2017).

I've covered Whitehead's novels, especially The Intuitionist, in previous years. I taught courses on Coates's works as well. But somehow, I've never assigned books by both writers in the same semester. I'll correct that oversight in spring 2018.

I've charted the coverage of Whitehead's novel, and I've started tracing coverage of Coates's newest book. Both writers command considerable attention these days. It's not always been like that, so it's been good to observe them building their audiences and widespread attention over the years.

[related: Divergent receptions: Ta-Nehisi Coates & Colson Whitehead]

Beyond the attention though, I'm excited about discussing the many ideas that emerge in their works with my students.

Related:
• A Notebook on the work of Ta-Nehisi Coates
• A Notebook on the work of Colson Whitehead