Rewriting Race in Literature: The Case of Huckleberry Finn

If you missed the live event, you can still catch up with the discussion!

• Read the Hamilton Journal News announcement article [pdf]
• Read the Hamilton Journal News front pagenews story [pdf] that followed the event.
• Watch the video of the Panel Presentation & Discussion from an on-campus computer

Date: Monday, February 21, 2011
Time: 3:30 pm -
Location: Wilks Conference Center, MUH

Alan Gribben’s rewriting of the classic novel for youth, Huckleberry Finn, has people talking. By substituting "the n-word” with “slave” and also changing “injun” to “Indian”, Gribben hopes to attract readers previously deterred by the offensive language.

But does changing an author’s language set an unwelcome precedent? How does this alter our ability to understand history? Or to facilitate dialogue on diversity?

We hope you will join us in discussing these issues. Kicking off the conversation will be an interdisciplinary panel of Miami University Hamilton Faculty, Dr. Oleta Prinsloo (HIST & BWS), Dr. Katherine Kickel (ENG), and Instructor Karen Brentley (BWS).

Light refreshments will be provided.