Well recently sat down with yale universe city professor david blight. Hes one of three editors of a short biography series that focuses on individuals of african descent who shaped American History. Well, joining us now on booktv is long time yale professor david blight. Hes also an author and a Pulitzer Prize winner. Professor blight, what do you teach at yale . Well, i teach about slavery. The civil war and reconstruction. How long have you been teaching that . Well, ive been teaching about that all of my career. Ive been doing it at yale about 20 years. But weve invited you on to talk about a new series that you are editing or producing called the black lives series. What is that . Well, its a series that Yale University press has just begun in the past few years. The three series editors are Henry Louis Gates jr and jacqueline goldsby. Jackie is here at yale and the english department. Skip is course up at harvard. Its a series modeled on another that yale press does called jewish
Well recently sat down with yale universe city professor david blight. Hes one of three editors of a short biography series that focuses on individuals of african descent who shaped American History. Well, joining us now on booktv is long time yale professor david blight. Hes also an author and a Pulitzer Prize winner. Professor blight, what do you teach at yale . Well, i teach about slavery. The civil war and reconstruction. How long have you been teaching that . Well, ive been teaching about that all of my career. Ive been doing it at yale about 20 years. But weve invited you on to talk about a new series that you are editing or producing called the black lives series. What is that . Well, its a series that Yale University press has just begun in the past few years. The three series editors are Henry Louis Gates jr and jacqueline goldsby. Jackie is here at yale and the english department. Skip is course up at harvard. Its a series modeled on another that yale press does called jewish
These stories every year and this is one thats recent. So you know i just ran into drew whittenburg whos here and he always brings me these bright Young Students from tipp city. And its such a pleasure to meet them. Theyre so inspiring to be here. And it reminded me of a story when i when devil grove first came out about ten years ago, i got a letter or email from a young law student at northwestern, and she wrote me this beautiful. She said, gilbert, after reading your book, ive decided what i want to do. I want to be a public defender in the spirit of, you know, Thurgood Marshall. And i said, thats beautiful and stayed in touch with her a little bit. And she said she moved down to florida. She got a as a public defender in west palm beach. Her name was claire. And, you know, she would keep me updated. Her progress and the cases that she was on and a of years later, she started to really rise up in the office and she said, you know what, i want to give you an award. Its called the gid
Hes been at work on pearl. Laurence dunbar the life and times of a caged bird, published should say by the ever wonderful Princeton University press for well over a decade. His previous books are representing race a new political history of African American literature and deans and truants, race and realism in African American literature. Hes joined evening by his colleague in the English Department simon gikandi, whos currently search projects are on slavery and modernity. Decolonization in literature and global modernism. Professor eric arnesen many acclaimed books i wont list all, but they include slavery and the culture of taste and writing in limbo. Modernism and caribbean literature. Before i hand things over, i just wanted quickly to say, right before reading gene jarrett outstanding biography of Paul Laurence dunbar, i had read saidiya hartmans wayward lives beautiful experiments in which Paul Laurence dunbar makes few appearances and does not cut a great figure. And so came to
Now the good part starts. Lets begin to talk about something before we start the id like to talk about something thats inspiration on and i have these stories every year and this is one thats recent. So you know i just ran into drew whittenburg whos here and he always brings me these bright Young Students from tipp city. And its such a pleasure to meet them. Theyre so inspiring to be here. And it reminded me of a story when i when devil grove first came out about ten years ago, i got a letter or email from a young law student at northwestern, and she wrote me this beautiful. She said, gilbert, after reading your book, ive decided what i want to do. I want to be a public defender in the spirit of, you know, Thurgood Marshall. And i said, thats beautiful and stayed in touch with her a little bit. And she said she moved down to florida. She got a as a public defender in west palm beach. Her name was claire. And, you know, she would keep me updated. Her progress and the cases that she was