Most people are aware of the musical legacies of jazz and the struggles to end slavery, then to end violence against African-Americans from the Reconstruction era to the Civil Rights Movement, once again a national issue, i.e., Black Lives Matter, and police killings. However, many people are often unaware of the contributions to world literature by African-American writers. Many American writers, such as Mark Twain, William Faulkner, Walker Percy, and others were often inspired or driven by the legacies of slavery and racism in their creative works.
The program will be in English.
Norma Hervey is a professor emerita of history at Luther College. She received her BA in History at the University of Akron, her MA in Library Science at State University of New York, Geneseo, her MA in History at St. Bonaventure University, and her PhD in History at the University of Minnesota. As an instructor, Hervey specialized in 19th-20th century American History, specifically immigration and community history, but her research interests extend to the Holocaust and ethnic issues in Central and Eastern Europe. Hervey has the distinction of winning not one, but two Fulbright awards, and currently teaches at Charles University.
