A matter of consciousness – Introducing Zora Neale Hurston and Katie G. Cannon

This article involves a close reading of two African American authors, Zora Neale Hurston, an acclaimed novelist and Katie Cannon, an influential theological ethicist. Texts from Steve Biko on black consciousness and from James Cone on liberation theology are used as methodological tools in trying to ascertain the degree to which Hurston and Cannon espouse a black (womanist) consciousness. A strong resonance of black consciousness will indeed be found in Hurston’s and Cannon’s texts. The conclusion drawn is that not only is there a resonance of black consciousness, but both writers also give proof of a black womanist consciousness that reveals new knowledge. Cannon’s oeuvre also begs the question of epistemological privilege. In addition, an animated critique is registered between these women scholars and male colleagues, in the world of fiction (Richard Wright) and academia (white European males).Contribution: This article demonstrates a link from South African black consciousness (Biko) to black womanist thinkers in the United States (Hurston and Cannon). A connection is also made between male, black liberation theology (Cone) and black womanist thinking, while expounding the womanist approach, liberated from (white) male dominance, on par with all others.

Heterodox Philology: A Conversation with Gauri Viswanathan

Michael Allan and Gauri Viswanathan discuss connections among philology, literary history, and religion, drawing from writers such as Edward Said, B.R. Ambedkar, Zora Neale Hurston, Louis Massignon, and Kumud Pawde. The conversation was initially conducted via Zoom on September 2, 2020, and collaboratively edited for readability.

African Community Life Pattern in some Novels of Toni Morrison and Zora Neale Hurston

The objective in this paper is to investigate the preservation of the community life that characterizes African people in the novels of Toni Morrison and Zora Neale Hurston.As a matter of fact, in all of Morrison’s novels, the black community is, from one perspective, largely defined by the dominant white society and its standards. The Bluest Eye takes place in Morrison’s home town of Lorain, Ohio. In the novel, the black community of Lorain is separated from the upper-class white community, also known as Lake Shore Park, a place where blacks are not permitted. The setting for Sula is a small town in Ohio, located on a hillside known as “Bottom”. In Song of Solomon, the reader is absorbed into the black community, an entity unto itself, but yet never far removed from the white world. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, actions take place in Eatonville in Florida.The study has revealed that there exists a strong solidarity in the different communities in the novels selected for this study. Like African communities in Africa, gossips, tradition and other features appear in the novels of Toni Morrison and Zora Neale Hurston to make them different from the white communities that boarder them in America. These writers from the African diaspora work to preserve their original communities in their novels.

Joy and Love in Zora Neale Hurston and Dorothy Waring’s 1944 Black Feminist Musical Polk County

What makes Zora Neale Hurston different as a musical theatre writer is her concern about the creation of safe spaces for black women actors. By looking at the theatrical representation of black women in Hurston and Dorothy Waring’s Polk County, it is possible to see ways in which they resist intersecting oppressions of gender and race. Hurston’s adaptation of the blues and folk music for the musical is also subject to analysis, as is her lasting impact on musical theatre.