A novel way to learn: black educational fiction from reconstruction to the Harlem renaissance

A Novel Way to Learn examines the development of black fiction in tandem with black educational advancement from Reconstruction to the Harlem Renaissance. By reading education in the novels of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Sutton Griggs, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Jessie Redmon Fauset, I reveal an underexplored genealogy of black educational thought from initial calls for educational access to more independent, ideological, and pragmatic modes embodied in the texts of black fiction writers. Ultimately, I argue that black educational fiction constitutes a key strand of African American writing before the Harlem Renaissance.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• Engstrom, Arja

Contributors dc:contributor

• Bauer, Dale M.
• Foote, Stephanie
• Castro, Nancy E.
• Mortensen, Peter L.

• American Literature
• African American Literature
• African American novel
• literature and education
• Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
• college education

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2014 Arja Karoliina Engstrom

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/49828

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/49828