Panel 4: Writers Addressing Race

Degree Program

Graduate

Major

Pursuing PhD in Higher Education Administration

Abstract

James Baldwin became connected to Bowling Green State University’s (BGSU) Ethnic Studies Department starting in the late 1970s, making four visits to campus, once as a guest speaker, once as a Write-in-Residence, and twice as a Distinguished Visiting Professor. The purpose of this paper is to understand how the relationship between BGSU and Baldwin developed. I constructed a historical, chronological narrative utilizing primary sources including various documents from BGSU’s archival collection to understand Baldwin’s affiliation with the university.

Baldwin’s 1977 visit to BGSU was his first public lecture in the United Sates since his departure to France years prior. Additionally, it was at BGSU that Baldwin first experienced teaching in a college classroom. Thus, given Baldwin’s legacy and the peculiarity that of all post-secondary institutions, he found his way to BGSU, the way in which Baldwin and BGSU overlap deserves analysis. Furthermore, I examined how Baldwin’s visits to BGSU impacted the campus and local community, as well as challenged the erasure of Black people’s perspectives and lived experiences within the post-secondary curriculum.

Keywords: James Baldwin, Ethnic Studies, African American, Black, Race, Bowling Green State University, History, Archives, Curriculum, Bowling Green State University

Start Date

8-2-2019 10:30 AM

End Date

8-2-2019 11:45 AM

COinS
 
Feb 8th, 10:30 AM Feb 8th, 11:45 AM

A Passage to Bowling Green: A Chronological Exploration of James Baldwin’s Connection to BGSU’s Ethnic Studies Department

James Baldwin became connected to Bowling Green State University’s (BGSU) Ethnic Studies Department starting in the late 1970s, making four visits to campus, once as a guest speaker, once as a Write-in-Residence, and twice as a Distinguished Visiting Professor. The purpose of this paper is to understand how the relationship between BGSU and Baldwin developed. I constructed a historical, chronological narrative utilizing primary sources including various documents from BGSU’s archival collection to understand Baldwin’s affiliation with the university.

Baldwin’s 1977 visit to BGSU was his first public lecture in the United Sates since his departure to France years prior. Additionally, it was at BGSU that Baldwin first experienced teaching in a college classroom. Thus, given Baldwin’s legacy and the peculiarity that of all post-secondary institutions, he found his way to BGSU, the way in which Baldwin and BGSU overlap deserves analysis. Furthermore, I examined how Baldwin’s visits to BGSU impacted the campus and local community, as well as challenged the erasure of Black people’s perspectives and lived experiences within the post-secondary curriculum.

Keywords: James Baldwin, Ethnic Studies, African American, Black, Race, Bowling Green State University, History, Archives, Curriculum, Bowling Green State University