Rentschler Library to host special Black History Month event: "Rewriting Race in Literature"

February 9, 2011

Alan Gribben’s recent rewriting of the classic Mark Twain novel, Huckleberry Finn, has people talking.  By substituting “the n-word” with the word “slave,” Gribben hopes to  attract readers previously deterred by the offensive language. But does this alter our  ability to understand history and culture? Does changing an author’s language set an unwelcome precedent for embracing censorship? Or does it simply make this American classic more accessible to a wider audience?

Kicking off the conversation will be an interdisciplinary panel of Miami Hamilton faculty: Dr. Oleta Prinsloo (History and Black World Studies), Dr. Katherine Kickel  (English), and Karen Brentley (Black World Studies). Download event poster (PDF).

• Date:  Monday, February 21
• Time:  3:30 pm
• Location:  Wilks Conference Center
• Student Sign-In:  Rentschler Library will have sign-in sheets available for students if faculty would like to offer credit for their attendance.  Please contact Kathleen Pickens-French at pickenke@muohio.edu  to have class(es) listed on the roster.